The tintype was a uniquely American form of photography that reached the height of its popularity between 1861 & 1863. Also known as the melainotype & the ferrotype, the tintype was developed in Gambier & Lancaster, Ohio. Making a tintype involved reproducing a photographic image on very thin sheets of iron instead of glass; multiple tintypes could be produced at one time from a single sheet of iron. The tintype process was faster, simpler, cheaper, & more durable than that of the daguerreotype. The characteristics of the tintype that led its critics to dismiss it as a serious art form are precisely the ones we find so appealing today. The men, women, children, & dogs in these images look as through they lived real lives. The informality of the medium encouraged its subjects to relax, so their poses are natural. We see details of hairstyles, clothing, & surroundings that are missing in the more formal daguerreotypes of the time. These wonderful tintypes provide us with a special appreciation of nineteenth-century American life that we are unlikely to encounter elsewhere. "The American Tintype" is the first comprehensive history of the subject. Most of the illustrations in this book are in the Floyd & Marion Rinhart Collection at The Ohio State University & are reproduced here for the first time. The text provides an accessible history of the tintype, including an appendix that contains information about 400 American tintypists.