How to Identify 5 Main Types of Old Photographs

Your ancestor’s photograph is in your hand. No name on the back. No date. No clue who it is.

The first step to identifying who’s in an old family photo isn’t the face — it’s the photograph itself. The type of photograph tells you when it was taken. That date range is your first filter.

For example: if you determine a photograph of an adult was taken in the 1910s, but the ancestor you suspected died in the 1890s, you need to reconsider who’s in the frame.

Here are the five main types of old photographs and what to look for in each.

Unfortunately, like us today, our ancestors did not always label their photographs. At least mine did not.

What do you as the family historian do?

What are the first steps you can take to identify the people in the photographs?

The first step in identifying an old family photograph is to determine the date or date range the photo was taken.

For example, if you determine your family photograph of an adult was taken in the 1910’s, but the ancestor you thought it was died in the 1890’s, you need to consider other candidates.

Start your photo identification process by determining what type of photograph you are looking at. The type of photograph will give you a time frame for when that photograph was taken.

The 5 MainTypes of Old Photographs

To date a photograph, you need to understand a bit about how photography evolved through the 19th and early 20th centuries. Each format has distinct physical characteristics and a fairly reliable date range.

 1. Daguerreotype (1840’s – early 1860)

Daguerreotypes were popular from the 1840s through the early 1860s. Developed by Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre, the process involved exposing a silver-plated sheet of copper to chemical fumes. The result: an image on polished silver that reflects light like a mirror and appears to almost “float.”

What to look for:

• Small size — the most common is 2¾ × 3½ inches
• Housed in a small hinged case
• Reflective, mirror-like surface — tilt it and the image shifts
• Fragile; must be handled carefully

Storage note: Keep daguerreotypes out of direct light and away from extreme temperatures. That means out of the attic.

For more on daguerreotypes, see The Daguerreian Society.

 2. Ambrotypes (1855-1865)

Ambrotypes look similar to daguerreotypes at first glance — they’re also housed in small hinged cases — but they don’t have that reflective, mirror-like quality. The image is created on glass using a wet collodion or emulsion process.

What to look for:

• Hinged case, like the daguerreotype
• No mirror reflection — the image is flat, not reflective
• Image on glass rather than metal
• Fragile; same storage rules apply — no direct sunlight, no extreme temperatures

For more on ambrotypes, see PhotoTree.com.

 

3. Tintypes (1856-1890’s)

Tintypes were one of the most affordable and popular photograph formats for over 30 years. The image was produced on a thin iron plate — not glass — which made them far more durable than daguerreotypes or ambrotypes.

What to look for:

• Iron plate — lightweight, slightly magnetic
• Early tintypes (1860s) came in small hinged cases like daguerreotypes and ambrotypes
• Cases were later replaced by paper sleeves; many tintypes today are found loose, without any sleeve
• In the 1890s, tintypes were popular at carnivals — subjects are often in more relaxed, informal poses

Dating note: Because tintypes were used for such a long stretch of time, the format alone won’t pin down a date. You’ll need to study the clothing and hairstyles to narrow the date range.

For more on tintypes, see PhotoTree.com.

4. Cartes des Visites  (Introduced in 1859)

The carte de visite — CDV for short — was a small albumen print mounted on thick cardboard, roughly the size of a calling card. CDVs were used much like calling cards were used in the 1850s: exchanged between friends, collected in albums, sent to family.

The Civil War accelerated their popularity as soldiers and families exchanged photographs during extended separations.

What to look for:

• Small size: approximately 2½ × 4 inches
• Mounted on thick cardboard (similar to card stock)
• Square corners = 1860s; rounded corners = 1870s
• Thinner cardboard mount indicates an earlier date

Read more about CDVs at The American Museum of Photography.

5. Cabinet Cards (1860-Early 1900’s)

Cabinet cards and cartes de visite are often confused. Both are albumen prints mounted on cardboard. The key differences: cabinet cards are larger, and they frequently have the photographer’s name or studio imprint on the back.

Cabinet cards peaked in popularity in the 1880s but continued into the early 1900s — so the physical characteristics of the card itself matter for dating.

What to look for:

• Larger than a CDV — approximately 4¼ × 6½ inches
• Thicker cardboard mount than a CDV
• Photographer’s name, logo, or studio address often printed on the reverse
• Beveled edges with gold or silver coloring = 1880s or later
• Scalloped border = approximately 1886–1900
• Cardboard color: Darker mounts (brown, burgundy, green, black) = 1880s–1890s
• Border details: No border = early cabinet card. Single line border = 1885–1900. Embossed patterns = 1894–1900. Artistic underscore = 1886–1896.
• Back of card: The more elaborate the design or artwork on the back, the later the date — in general.

Explore the characteristics of the popular cabinet card in this video:

For more on dating cabinet cards, see the Library of Congress guide to photographic formats.

Bonus: Antique Hand Painted Photographs (1850s-1940s)

Antique hand-painted photographs were popular from the 1850s into the early 20th century — and in some forms, into the mid-1940s. Skilled artists painted directly onto photographic prints using fine brushes and oil paints, creating one-of-a-kind images with a painterly quality.

Their popularity peaked in the 1860s and 1870s alongside the rise of the carte de visite.

What to look for:

• Flush coloring on cheeks, clothing, or background — a giveaway on portrait-style photographs
• Visible brushstrokes or areas where paint appears thicker or more textured than the surrounding image
• A slightly glossy or varnished surface — added to protect the paint

Source: Library of Congress

The Brownie Camera – Photographs for the Masses

In 1900, Kodak introduced the Brownie camera. It was the first camera marketed to the general public — priced for everyday buyers, small enough to carry, and designed so that no darkroom or studio was required.

Before the Brownie, having a photograph taken was an occasion. You planned for it. You may have saved for it. After the Brownie, ordinary people could capture ordinary moments.

The result: a sharp increase in informal, candid photographs beginning in the early 1900s. If your family photos suddenly shift from stiff studio portraits to relaxed outdoor snapshots, the Brownie is often why.

The camera remained popular throughout the 20th century, with millions sold worldwide. My ancestors certainly took advantage of it. If they had just labeled those photographs.

For more about the Brownie camera see The Brownie Camera Page.

3 Common Places to Look For Old Family Photos

What if your family does not have any old photographs? No old daguerreotypes tucked in the back of a drawer. No cabinet cards found in a photo album. No heritage photographs of any kind found.

Finding photographs can be difficult if your family line didn’t inherit them — but you have options. Three places worth checking:

1. Ebay  – Old family ephemera, including photographs of every type, ends up on auction sites. They’re often listed simply as antique photos, with no family identification attached. They represent someone’s family history.
2. Orphan Photo Sites – DeadFred.com is a well-known site for sharing and searching for orphaned family photographs.
3. Other Family Lines – Just because your direct line doesn’t have photographs doesn’t mean the photos don’t exist. Reach out to cousins and extended family members to find out who’s keeping the family photos — and the family history. In my family, that’s me.

Learn more about where to find old family photographs here.

Resources on Identifying Older Photographs:

Want to go further with photo identification?

• Cracking the Family Photo Code — $37 webinar — full identification process, start to finish
• Hairstyles 1840-1900 – by Maureen Taylor — essential for dating photographs by clothing and hair
• How to Archive Family Photos: A Step-by-Step Guide to Organize and Share Your Photos Digitally by Denise Levenick

More About Old Family Photographs in These Posts:

• Tips for Identifying People In Old Family Photos – The MOST popular!
• How to determine the date of an old family photograph
• Where to Find Old Family Photos
• How To Pull Genealogy Clues From Your Old Family Photographs
• Identifying an Old Family Photograph – Who IS That Couple?
• Are You Your Ancestor’s Doppelganger? Find Out What Your Ancestor Looked Like
• How to Date Antique Photographs Using Tax Stamps
• Best Practices for Storing Heirloom Photographs
• Top 10 Resources for Dating Old Photographs
• How To Find Your Ancestors in School Yearbooks!