Sunday, July 3, 2011

Reenactors in Tintypes

Today I thought I would present to you Reenactors in Tintypes. I got the idea partly from another blog that I follow - Eastlake Victorian.
Anyhow, a couple of years ago I asked numerous reenactor/living historian friends of mine to please e-mail to me any actual tintypes or daguerreotypes of themselves in period clothing. Not Photoshop reproductions. Not just sepia photos from Paint Shop Pro. But, actual photographs taken with a real period camera.
And they did!!
What I present here on this 4th of July weekend is what I have received. I hope you enjoy them.

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(above) Mourners after a burial




(above) My dear wife

(above) Me!

(above) my family - taken by R.J. Gibson in Gettysburg





I hope you enjoyed them.
You know, along the same lines, I collect original 78 rpm records from the 1930's through the early 1950's and, although I have most of the songs digitally remastered on compact disc, they sound so much more...authentic? Original? Hmmm...well, they just sound right on a 1940's phonograph that I have.
I look at these photographs in the same way. Even though they're not original to the mid-19th century, the equipment used was, and that makes all the difference in the world!


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6 comments:

  1. Whats wonderful is they look exactly like original ones back then. If you didn't tell me, I would have never known.

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  2. Wonderful! The woman third from the bottom is familiar...is her name Christen or Christenson? I know I've seen this image before and it looks like one that the Christens (geez I wish I could recall their names, I want to call them Bill and Ella Christensen)showed on a lecture we had at the Whaley House about 10 years ago on period clothing. She showed us the image and the actual dress she wore in it. The real dress was electric blue and came out dove gray.

    It would be really fascinating to see the images side by side of tintype and actual modern color.

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  3. Oh WOW! I wouldn't have known the difference either if you hadn't have posted! I have a bunch of original ones and the pictures you posted look like the same ! Thanks for sharing , such a neat idea! I would love to have a family portrait done that way :) Hope you had a wonderful 4th of July!!
    Trish

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  4. Thanks everyone. I hope to collect more from my reenacting friends and maybe do a part 2.
    Robin, you have a great memory! Yes that IS Glenna Jo Christen in the tintype! She and I, along with our spouses, are every good friends!

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  5. Haha! There's a picture of me. That was my families first event. Wow! Glenna Jo looks like the real thing! If I dint know it was her, I'd thought it be a cdv!

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