Thursday, June 21, 2012

Tin Types

Have you ever been walking through an antique store and see a tin type photograph?
I always thought how wonderful to have such a old picture of a family member would be amazing.
Tin Type photos were first introduced to America in 1854.
By the end of the Civil War the were popular.
I am looking at them to get an idea for a dress for the Civil War reenactment.

So....would you like to see the ones I now have thanks to cousin Fred?



My Great Grandmother born in 1866
her mother died in 1873, the first picture she looks so happy and the second one so sad.
here is her sister Effie b. 1869

 so the 2 above pictures were probably taken at the same time.
I just have in my mind the GGGrandfather Wilson had their pictures taken after their Mother died.

Catherine's husband James b. 1853
This would of been taken just after the Civil war.
Here is Aunt Effie with her husband Robert. This may be a wedding picture?
This would be a later tin type 1899

Then there are some in those little cases that open with the red velvet interior. I have one I do not know who they are...I will try to figure it out.
These are the ones I am working on now.
No clue?

Boy or girl?
Maybe my Great Grandmothers Aunt
I just realized the background in this picture is the same as Aunt Effies?
I think I know this one, another Aunt of my Great Grandmother.
what do you think? same person? Elizabeth Hickman
m.1877
Another sister?

Don't you love looking at the clothes too?
Trying to look at them and see if I can get a design for my dress to wear for the Riot Reenactment from 1864. I have a dress I wore for the Lincoln Douglas debate...that was 1994? I do not think it will fit!
Catherine and Susan Hickman
I think my dress will be similar to these and since it is in March I can 
have a higher collar and wear my Great Grandmother's 
Cameo brooch.

Hope you enjoyed seeing these tin types.
To think I have them in my care and they are 150 years old!


23 comments:

Paulette said...

Such lovely photos, it's so wonderful to have images of family from long ago. Thanks for sharing them.

Donna@Conghaile Cottage said...

Oh How LUCKY you are to have all these from your OWN FAMILY! I have many tin types BUT they are not related to me. I look at them and feel bad they have gotten lost from their owners.
(((LOVE)))yours more with the fact you identify with them. I LOVE those dresses in the last picture. They would be SO MUCH FUN to wear!
I'll be watching for a PICTURE OF YOU in your outfit!!!
Have a fun week,
Big Hugs,
Donna

Sara said...

These are amazing! We sure have come a long way in photography! Thanks for sharing Ann, these are so much fun to look at! I can't wait to see your dress!

Sally Annie Magundy said...

I love this post. Such wonderful photos Ann! Old family photos, even when they are not mine, tug at my heart. I am fortunate to have a few but unable to identify the family members as yet. Fingers crossed, clues will be found and names known.

Happy VTT!

Olive said...

Ann, they are splendid and family treasures. I see similar ones at a local flea-maybe I should buy some. xo, O

Gail said...

Oh they are beautiful Ann! You are so lucky to have them. I can't wait to see your dress. Enjoy your weekend, Gail

theromanticrose said...

Affascinanti queste foto!Fanno sognare!A noi ci sembra bello chissà loro se erano felici?Rosetta

Decor To Adore said...

A very good looking family! I have a few tin types in our huge family bible. Alas I have no idea who they are and no one to ask. Still they are a treasure.

I so appreciate your treasured friendship and lovely support.

LV said...

A truly wonderful post filled with so much from the past. I have seen those, but not sure if I kept any down through the years.

Unknown said...

Hi Ann, Wow, what great tin's..I have a good friend who makes clothing for this time period clothing..if you need to ask any questions I can give you her email. She has been doing this for a very long time..she has lots of info on this time period..
Hugs..Shirley

Sunny Simple Life said...

You have a wonderful collection. They must have had a comfortable life to afford all those photos. My family I think on my mom's side was pretty poor as we have so few. Love the ones with the two ladies in the pretty dresses.

Jacqueline~Cabin and Cottage said...

I do find these fascinating. Lucky that you know who some of them are. Such a different mode than photos these days! I would love those green/white hydrangeas you mentioned! Sweet!

Anonymous said...

Hi Ann! Oh, you are so fortunate to have all of these tin types of your family! Really some good looking folks! Hope you find out who your mystery folks are.
Thanks for popping in to see me.
Be a sweetie,
Shelia ;)

Debbie said...

I LOVE looking at old pictures of family members like these. I especially love the old clothing. The dresses are lovely.
xxoo

C'est moi Claudette said...

Holy Hanna those are old. And they always looked so mad. I wonder why?? Hard life maybe? Or just no smiling aloud. Would have been a very hard era for me. I can't stop smiling.
Never heard of tin types though. Very cool.
Nice that you will be wearing your grandmother' brooch (spelling? )
It's late
Have a great summer.
Xoxoxoxo

NanaDiana said...

Ann- I can hardly believe you have all those from your family. How wonderful is that?! I love that you will wear your gramma's brooch- xo Diana

Jan said...

Tins are awesome but sad in a way that they got separated from their families. We have two from our ancestors and cherish them. Great post!

Susie said...

Ann,
You are so lucky to have those tin types of your family members. It is a treasure. I would have loved having anything that my grandparents could have passed along. Oh I want to tell you, I absolutely love the photo on your header. Smiles, Susie

Babs said...

Beautiful family photos/tin types. It's wonderful that you have them. I always like to look at my family's old photos and wonder what their lives were like back then. It looks like you have lots of inspiration for your re-enactment dress. Please show a photo of you in it when you get it finished.

Ann from On Sutton Place said...

Oh my goodness. These are treasures. I can't wait to see what you come up with in regards to a dress. There is a lot of material in those things! Hope you are enjoying your Sunday Ann!

Richard Cottrell said...

I love them. I had a wonderful one of Jefferson Davis and his wife and kids. It was stolen from my house. I don't have much of a problem with things like that, but they took that and it broke my heart. I think I even know who took it? But!!!!!Richard from my Old Historic House.

★Carol★ said...

I often see these in antique stores, and I always think it's so sad that they didn't stay in the family. Why wouldn't you want to know where you came from? But I guess some people just don't care about things like that. These are truly wonderful, and I'm so glad that you're the keeper of your family's photos!

Anita at Cedar Hill said...

Oh this was a delightful post. I love history and looking at old photos is fascinating to me. That is amazing that you have all of those photos. I had a friend who was an extra in a movie a long time ago. The reason she was chosen was because she was small enough to fit in the antique clothing they wanted the extras to use. People were so small back then. Don't even talk about what size we were back in 1994!!