- Joined
- Feb 23, 2013
- Location
- East Texas
While making another post today I was reminded about getting my very first Civil War photograph, a ninth-plate tintype of a young Union infantry corporal. I bought him cheap at my then-favorite antique gun shop, and not knowing any better, since he was in a full case, slipped him into my shirt pocket. Imagine my horror when I looked at him again and found a piece of the emulsion had totally separated and was now covering his face! Panicky, I somehow managed to gently tap the case and move it away to one side. As you can see here, the loose trapezoid of background is still out-of-place but thank God, hasn't been moved further in the intervening half-century!
I discovered from this escapade just how fragile these can be, though I think this is the only time I've seen the film of emulsion actually separate from the metal plate like this. I've seen ones out-of-the-case all scratched up, but this is another matter altogether. It's completely cracked overall; dropping it would probably shatter or atomize what's left. To think this is likely all that's left of this particular young man's record of service is sad indeed. Remember that, unlike CDV's or other prints, all cased images are more-or-less fragile and all are also one-of-a-kind mementoes.
I discovered from this escapade just how fragile these can be, though I think this is the only time I've seen the film of emulsion actually separate from the metal plate like this. I've seen ones out-of-the-case all scratched up, but this is another matter altogether. It's completely cracked overall; dropping it would probably shatter or atomize what's left. To think this is likely all that's left of this particular young man's record of service is sad indeed. Remember that, unlike CDV's or other prints, all cased images are more-or-less fragile and all are also one-of-a-kind mementoes.