Restrictions to Access

The items in this collection are extremely fragile due to their age, the materials used to make them, and the fact that they are all unique originals. Tintypes have no equivalent of a negative and cannot be physically reproduced. Researchers may be presented with a digital copy instead of original materials if the Photographic Archivist has determined the original should not be handled.

Restrictions to Use

No usage restrictions.

Copyright Notice

Materials in public domain.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Tintype Collection (P0009), year image was made [when known], North Carolina Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library.

Acquisitions Information

The items in this collection came to the North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives from a number of different and unrelated sources. Items in the first series came to the North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives from the Carroll family of Danbury, N.C., in 1996. Items in the second serie came to the North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives from unrelated donors.

Sensitive Materials Statement

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.

The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.

Persons:
• Harris, Henry Speck, 1837-1863.
• Roulhac family.

Places:
• Chapel Hill (N.C.)--Photographs.
• Danbury (N.C.)--Photographs.
• Hillsborough (N.C.)--Photographs.
• Orange County (N.C.)--Photographs.
• Stokes County (N.C.)--Photographs.

General Subjects:
• African Americans--North Carolina--History--19th century.
• African Americans--North Carolina--Photographs.
• Commencement ceremonies--North Carolina--Chapel Hill.
• Confederate States of America. Army. North Carolina Infantry Regiment, 6th.
• Family--North Carolina--Photographs.
• North Carolina--Photographs.
• Photographs.
• Portrait photography.
• Slavery--North Carolina.
• Slaves--North Carolina--Photographs.
• Slaves--Photographs.
• Stokes County (N.C.)--Photographs.
• Tintype--North Carolina.
• Tintype.
• University of North Carolina (1793-1962)--History--19th century.
• University of North Carolina (1793-1962)--Photographs.

• Portrait Collection (P0002), North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives
• Ambrotype (P0007), North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives
• Daguerreotype Collection (P0008), North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives
• Miscellaneous Pictures (4090), Southern Historical Collection

Tintypes (also known as ferrotypes) were a popular format invented in the United Sates by Hamilton L. Smith in 1856. The process by which the images were developed was based on the "wet collodion" process used to produce ambrotypes. Instead of glass, the base of the tintype is a sheet of iron that has been treated with a dark lacquer, which is then coated with an iodized collodion solution and a light sensitive silver solution. It is exposed to light in the camera and captures an image that becomes visible after further processing. The process was quick and cheap and as a result tintypes were extremely popular. The images were commonly left unframed so that they could be inserted in paper sleeves or mattes. The encased images were often inserted into albums, books, or displayed "as is." This format was in use from 1856 into the early 1900s.

The Tintype Collection contains 19 images taken of individuals seated or standing for portraits, circa 1856-1900. Individuals appearing in the images have been identified whenever possible. Known individuals are listed as subject access points, as are identified locations. Most of the tintypes are no longer encased. Included are images of the Carroll family of Danbury, N.C.; a slave referred to as "Uncle Caesar," who was owned by the Roulhac family of Hillsborough, N.C.; graduation marshals at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N.C., in 1861; and Henry Speck Harris (1837-1863) of the "Flat River Guard" Company B, 6th North Carolina Infantry Regiment.

Tintypes are often described using the following terms:

• Whole plate: 6-1/2 x 8-1/2 inches
• Half plate (1/2): 4-1/4 x 5-1/2 inches
• Quarter plate (1/4): 3-1/4 x 4-1/4 inches
• Sixth plate (1/6): 2-3/4 x 3-1/4 inches
• Ninth plate (1/9): 2 x 2-1/2 inches
• Sixteenth plate (1/16): 1-3/8 x 1-5/8 inches