GALLERY

Hand-colored whole plate tintypes are in favor, partly due to the 2023 April - October exhibition 'Painted Tintypes; Photography for the People' at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Here, we have a blonde boy wearing a tucked-in red tunic. He balances himself between the studio furniture and the rather large dog. The dog cooperated for the most part, even keeping his or her head in a mostly still position. One might think the large dog would overwhelm the boy, but it's quite clear that they're partners.

SIZE. Whole (full) plates are 8 1/2 x 6 1/2 inches. With tintypes, there is a little bit of leeway (as opposed to daguerreotypes and ambrotypes, which entail strict sizing). However, this is way beyond a whole plate size at approximately 9 15/16 x 7 3/4 inches.

CONDITION. Bends in the corners. Slight bend on the dog's torso. Minor spotting. There's a partial fingerprint, some sort of mark or symbol, and handwritten numbers at the lower left corner.

APPEARANCE. Very good contrast. Excellent use of color. There's a three-dimensional feel to this portrait. The back wall has a matte effect, whereas everything else is shiny. Consequently, this could be called a 'relievo' tintype. Fantastic size!