RBSC Photograph Identification Guide

This is a guide for identifying photographic materials at University of British Columbia Library - Rare Books and Special Collections. This guide is part of the RBSC Archives Toolkit.

RBSC photograph identification guide created by B. Leung, Ryerson Intern, October 2020.

Photographic Process

Albumen prints

Also known as: Albumen silver prints, Albumen paper print, Silver prints

Photographs on thin paper coated with a layer of albumen (egg whites) and usually mounted to a thicker support. Usually appear with a purple-brown tone or yellowing due to deterioration. Can also have cracking on the image surface due to the albumen layer expanding and contracting. Paper fibres may become visible under raking light or magnification. Early albumen prints have a semi-matte sheen while later albumen prints show a glossier sheen. Mainly used between 1860-1895.

Unidentified Photographer, Entrance to Stanley Park, [between 1890-1900?] (UL_1445_0028)
Frederick Dally, The steamer ‘Onward’ landing freight, preparatory to crossing Emery’s Bar, [1867 or 1868] (UL_1001_0008)
Isaiah West Taber, Bird’s-eye-view of San Francisco, towards Palace Hotel and Nob Hill, [not after 1888] (UL_1005_0002)

Ambrotypes

Also known as: Collodion positive on glass, Collodion glass positives, Wet-collodion positive

Photographs produced on glass using the wet-collodion process. A black varnish or backing (paint, lacquer, fabric, paper) was applied or placed behind the glass plate negative to make it appear as a positive image. Sometimes colored glass (such as ruby colored glass) was used to create the positive image instead of a dark backing. They are usually encased like Daguerreotypes. The images have milky-white highlights like in Tintypes (made with the same process). Mainly used between 1854-1865. (RBSC example: UL_1634)

Examples of Ambrotypes from the Graphic Atlas
Examples of the milky-white highlights exhibited by Ambrotypes, from the Graphic Atlas

Chromogenic prints

Also known as: Dye coupling print, Type C print, C-print, Color print

Color photographs printed on paper. The image is formed by the inclusion of layers of colored dyes in the paper (yellow, magenta, cyan) that form a full color image. Under magnification, the image appears as groupings of colored dots. Prints may have a manufacturer's stamp on the back (e.g. Kodak) and yellowing in the highlights (bright areas). Prints from the 1940s and 1950s usually exhibit intense fading and deterioration (to yellow or magenta colors). Mainly used between 1942-present.

Examples of Chromogenic prints from the Graphic Atlas
Example of colored dye cloud pattern from the Graphic Atlas
Example of color shifting towards yellow and magenta of early Chromogenic prints from the Graphic Atlas

Collodion printing-out paper prints

Also known as: Collodion prints, Collodion silver emulsion, Collodion silver chloride print

Photographs meant to look like albumen prints. They also exhibit a warm, red-brown tone with a glossier and smoother surface. Mainly used between 1885-1910.

Stephen Joseph Thompson, Mountain Creek Bridge, containing 1,500,000 ft of Timber, C.P.R., [between 1886 and 1906] (UL_1446_0004)
Unidentified Photographer, [Portrait of men and women on a porch], [Between 1891-1901] (UL_1015_0011)
Unidentified Photographer, [Log cabin], [between 1900 and 1910?] (UL_1022_01_0007)

Collotypes

Also known as: Albertype, Artotype, Photolithographs, Photomechanical prints, Collograph, Phototype, Heliotype

Photomechanically produced photographs printed in ink from printing plates. They have a reticulated dot pattern seen under magnification, Mainly used between 1870-1930.

Unidentified Photographer, Hastings St., East, Vancouver, [not after 1910] (UL_1031_03_0004)
C.W. Mathers, Esquimaux [sic] Man and Family, [1901] (UL_1116_03_0002)
Example of the reticulation dot pattern seen under magnification from the Graphic Atlas

Cyanotypes

Also known as: Blueprints

Photographs on paper with a very distinct blue tone. Mainly used between 1842-1950.

William A. Bauer, [Group portrait posed on the steps of a home], [between 1891-1901] (UL_1015_0025)
Unidentified Photographer, Mr. Timmins, [between 1895 and 1905?] (UL_1444_0074)

Daguerreotypes

Photographs made on silvered copper plates. They exhibit a mirror-like surface and appear as a negative image at certain angles. Usually found in a case or framed. Mainly used between 1840-1860. (RBSC example: UL_1595)

Unidentified Photographer, Portrait of a man, https://rbsc.library.ubc.ca/2011/11/18/happy-birthday-louis-daguerre/ (BC1933)
Example of a Daguerreotype from the Graphic Atlas

Diffusion transfer print/Dye diffusion transfer print

Also known as: Polaroid, Fuji Instax film, Kodak instant film, instant photographs, Instant integral film, Peel apart film

Photographs that developed the image on their own. Came in black and white and color (if the film had color dyes in it) varieties. In 1948, it was introduced as a print that needed to be peeled from its backing (containing the developing chemicals) to reveal the image (peel apart film). After 1972, it was introduced as a print that contained the developing chemicals within it (integral film). These prints have white borders around them and markings indicating their manufacturer (Polaroid, Kodak, Fuji). Mainly used between 1948-present.

Examples of color peel apart dye diffusion transfer prints from the Graphic Atlas
Examples of color integral dye diffusion transfer prints from the Graphic Atlas

Dye diffusion thermal transfer prints

Also known as: D2T2, Thermal prints, Dye sublimation

Photographs digitally printed through the dye diffusion thermal transfer process. They are produced through a combination of heat and colored dyes in which the separate color layers are printed one at a time on a print. Under magnification, they have a continuous tone and appear with a line pattern. Mainly used between 1995-present.

Examples of Dye diffusion thermal transfer prints from the Graphic Atlas
Example of line pattern from the Graphic Atlas

Film negatives

Also known as: Roll film negatives, Flexible film negatives, Sheet film negatives, Chromogenic film

Photographic negatives made on a flexible support (e.g. nitrate (1889-1951), acetate (1920s-present), polyester (1955-present)). Appear as negatives with neutral black and white tones or color tones with orange backing if color film. Nitrate and acetate negatives can show severe deterioration such as yellowing and disintegration for nitrate films and vinegar syndrome and channeling in the emulsion for acetate films. Nitrate and acetate films can also be identified by manufacturer’s text at the edge of the negatives or notch codes on large format negatives. Comes in various image sizes (35 mm: 36x24 mm; Medium format: various sizes such as 6x4.5, 6x6, 6x9 cm; Large format/sheet film: various sizes such as 4x5, 5x7, 8x10 in.). Mainly used between 1888-present.

35 mm negatives: Jim Wong-Chu, [Kodak tri x pan film negatives], [after 1970?] (RBSC-ARC-1710-PH-1614 to 1649, box 33, Jim Wong-Chu fonds)
Medium format negatives: Jim Wong-Chu, [Kodak safety film negatives], [after 1979?] (RBSC-ARC-1710-PH-1650 to 1657, box 33, Jim Wong-Chu fonds)
Large format negative: Jim Wong-Chu, [Negative for the poem "Operation"], [after 1970?] (RBSC-ARC-1710-PH-1142, box 33, Jim Wong-Chu fonds)

Film transparencies

Also known as: Slides, Gelatin silver transparency, Roll film transparency

Photographic negatives made on a flexible support (e.g. nitrate (only for black and white transparencies), acetate, polyester). Appear as positive images with neutral black and white tones or color tones if color film. Meant to be viewed by transmitted light or may be mounted in paper or board frames for projection. Comes in various image sizes (35 mm: 36x24 mm; Medium format: various sizes such as 6x4.5, 6x6, 6x9 cm; Large format/sheet film: various sizes such as 4x5, 5x7, 8x10 in.). Mainly used between 1930s-2000s.

Unidentified Photographer, Colour transparency of rear grounds of Faculty Club, [1950] (UBC 1.1/16043)
Examples of color film transparencies in paper mounts from the Preservation Self-Assessment Program

Gelatin silver printing-out paper prints

Also known as: Gelatin silver chloride print, silver prints

Photographs very similar to Collodion printing-out paper prints. They also exhibit a warm, red-brown tone with a glossy and smooth surface. They are more susceptible to fading and deterioration than Collodion prints. Mainly used between 1885-1910. (RBSC example: UL_1021)

Examples of Gelatin silver printing-out paper prints from the Graphic Atlas
Examples of faded and discolored gelatin silver printing-out paper prints from the Graphic Atlas

Gelatin silver prints

Also known as: Silver gelatin prints, Black and White prints, Gelatin silver developing-out paper prints, Silver prints

Photographs on paper that appear a neutral or warm black and white with a smooth, continuous image tone. They can also be toned to appear brown, blue-black, purple-black or red. Can come in thicker baryta-coated (fiber-based) or resin-coated (after 1960s) varieties. The backing of fiber-based papers feels like paper while resin-coated papers feel like plastic. Many papers had different surface textures through the use of matting agents. Papers made after the mid-1950s fluoresce a blue-white light under UV radiation because of the addition of optical brightening agents (OBAs). Can exhibit yellowing or “silver mirroring” (shiny in the shadow areas) when deteriorated. Mainly used between 1890-2000.

Lachlan Taylor Burwash, Kent Peninsula Natives, 1925 or 1926 (UL_1000_0015)
Unidentified Photographer, [British War Plane], [between 1914-1918?] (UL_1015_0094)
Unidentified Photographer, Indian [sic] Village, [between 1900 and 1910?] (UL_1018_0014)

Glass plate negatives

Also known as: Gelatin dry plate, Dry plate negatives, Wet plate collodion, Wet collodion negatives

Photographic negatives made on glass. From 1851-1885, mainly made using collodion and had to be exposed “wet” inside the camera and developed immediately. Wet collodion negatives appear creamy white, yellow, red or brown in tone and may have empty corners or an uneven layer of collodion. From 1880-1940, they were made using gelatin and were “dry” and could be developed later. Dry plate negatives appear a neutral or warm grey or black and white and may exhibit “silver mirroring” (shiny in the shadow areas) when deteriorated. Mainly used between 1851-1940.

Unidentified Photographer, [Glass negative depicting two men playing croquet], [between 1910 and 1919?] (Croquet_Box3_0283)
Example of a wet collodion negative with empty corners, a broken off corner and pour lines at the edges from the Graphic Atlas
Example of gelatin dry plate negatives from the Graphic Atlas

Halftones

Also known as: Letterpress, Photoengraving, Relief Halftone, Halftone photomechanical prints

Photomechanically produced photographs made through the relief and etching printmaking processes. They are made up of a matrix of spaced out dots (halftone pattern) with a distinctive “ink squeeze-out” surrounding the dots (darker ink “halo” around dots) seen under magnification. Mainly used between 1875-1960s.

W.G. Macfarlane, Passion Play by British Columbia Indians [sic], [between 1905 and 1915?] (UL_1624_03_0246)
Unidentified Photographer, Hastings Street looking East from Post Office, [between 1900 and 1910?] (UL_1630_0023)
Unidentified Photographer, Hastings Street, looking east from Granville Street, Vancouver, B.C., [between 1905 and 1915?] (UL_1624_03_0291; example of a halftone printing plate)
Example of halftone with dot matrix pattern and ink squeeze-out from the Graphic Atlas

Inkjet prints

Also known as: Digital inkjet, Glicée, Pigment print, Digital prints

Photographs produced through digital printing. They are produced through a printer that translates a digital image into small droplets of colored ink onto a surface. They are composed of an irregular pattern of cyan, magenta, yellow and black dots. Mainly used between 1990-present.

Examples of inkjet prints from the Graphic Atlas
Example of the dot pattern from the Graphic Atlas

Offset Lithographs

Also known as: Photo offset lithography, Offset printing, Photo-lithography, Lithography

Photomechanically produced photographs made through the lithographic printing process. They are made up of a matrix of spaced out dots (halftone pattern) with fuzzy edges seen under magnification. Mainly used between the 1960s-present.

Example of offset lithographs from the Graphic Atlas
Example of offset lithograph and halftone pattern from the Graphic Atlas

Orotones

Also known as: Curt-tone, goldtone

Photographs made on glass that are backed with gold powder to give the image golden tones. Usually found framed to protect the image on glass. Mainly used between 1880s-1930s. (RBSC example: UL_1317)

Unidentified Photographer, Frank B. Williams, ca. 1910, The Historic New Orleans Collection, gift of Williams, Inc., 1981.16

Photogravure

Also known as: Heliogravure, Photo etching, Photo aquatint

Photomechanically produced photographs made with printmaking techniques such as intaglio. They are produced using ink and a printing press. They show no image deterioration, with slight image relief and appear like true photographs. Mainly used between 1890-present. (RBSC example: UL_1159)

Examples of Photogravures from the Graphic Atlas
Examples of the reticulation pattern seen under magnification from the Graphic Atlas

Platinum prints

Also known as: Platinotype, Palladiotype

Photographs on paper that usually appear a neutral black to warm brown with a long image tone. They have a matte surface in which the paper fibers are visible. They can appear yellow or yellow-brown when deteriorated or produce a “ghost image” if in contact with another piece of paper or board. Mainly used between 1880-1930. (RBSC example: UL_1023)

Examples of Platinum prints from the Graphic Atlas
Examples of deteriorated prints showing yellow-brown fading from the Graphic Atlas
Examples of ghosting appearing on paper in contact with platinum prints from the Graphic Atlas

Tintypes

Also known as: Ferrotype, Melainotype, Wet collodion positive

Photographs made on a lacquered iron plate with milky-white highlights. Usually found cased, in paper sleeves or in albums. The iron base is also magnetic. Mainly used between 1856-1930s.

Unidentified Photographer, [Portrait of a man and a woman.], [between 1874-1865?] (UL_1457_0077)
Unidentified Photographer, [Tintype depicting men and women with croquet mallets], [between 1900 and 1909?] (Croquet_Box3_0059)

Photograph Formats

Cabinet cards

Also known as: Cabinet photographs

Photographs mounted onto board. A larger version of the cartes-de-visite. The photographs were usually 5.5 x 4 in. and pasted to a 6.5 x 4.25 in. board. They usually had the name of the photographer and studio printed under the photograph. Mainly made between 1866-c.1914.

Edwin Poole, [Portrait of a woman possibly named C. Wells], [between 1880 and 1890?] (UL_1457_0008)
Samuel J. Dixon, [Portrait of a woman], [between1870and1880?](UL_1457_0052)
Bailey Brothers,[Cordova and Cambie], [between1870and1880?](UL_1018_0003)

Cartes-de-visite

Also known as: Carte de visite, Card photographs

Photograph mounted onto board. The photographs were usually 3.5 x 2.5 in. and pasted to a 4 x 3 in. board. They usually had the name of the photographer and studio printed under the photograph. Early cartes-de-visites usually had thinner mounts and square corners. After 1870, mounts with rounded corners were used. Mainly made between 1854-1900s.

William Craig, [Portrait of a woman standing], [between 1869-1880] (UL_1457_0075)
Henry McKenzie, [Portrait of a woman], [between 1860 and 1870?] (UL_1457_0014)
L.A. Gamsby, [Portrait of a man and a woman.], [between 1864 and 1875?] (UL_1457_0036)

Contact sheets

Also known as: Proof prints, Proof sheets

Prints made by exposing multiple negatives placed on one piece of photographic paper. Used by photographers to see all their photographs on a roll of film at once and to choose what to print later. Mainly made between 1900s-2000s.

Jim Wong-Chu, [Contact sheet], [after 1975?] (RBSC-ARC-1710-PH-2740, box 33, Jim Wong- Chu fonds)

Lantern slides

Also known as: Magic lantern slides, Lantern slide transparencies, Hyalotypes

Photographic transparencies made on glass that were meant to be projected in a “magic lantern” projector. The slides were made up of the glass transparency, a black paper frame and another piece of protective glass, which were all taped together. Early lantern slides were made using the wet collodion process and appear in a variety of image tones from creamy white, yellow, and brown. By the end of the 19th century, many were made using a gelatin silver emulsion that exhibits neutral to warm gray to black tones. They were made as black and white images but could be hand-colored, tinted or toned. Mainly used between the 1850s-c. 1960s.

Unidentified Photographer, Vancouver, B.C., [between 1920 and 1929] (CC_PH_10704)
John Cooper Robinson, Empress. Japan. Yokohama, [between 1910 and 1919] (RBSC-ARC-1757-PH-2178)
Unidentified Photographer, [Lantern slide depicting cats playing croquet], [between 1910 and 1919?] (Croquet_Box3_0285)
Examples of wet collodion lantern slides from the Graphic Atlas
Examples of gelatin dry plate lantern slides from the Graphic Atlas

Mammoth plates

Also known as: Mammoth print

Extremely large photographic prints usually measuring between 15 x 18 in. to 22 x 25 in. This label usually applies to photographs made in the second half of the nineteenth century that were albumen prints produced from wet collodion negatives (glass plate negatives). (RBSC example: UL_1187)

Carleton E. Watkins, Cape Horn, Columbia River, Oregon, 1867, (Albumen mammoth print measuring 20 1⁄2 x 15 3⁄8 in.)

Stereographs

Also known as: Stereograms, Stereoscopic views, Stereo cards, Stereograph cards

Two photographs of one scene mounted on board and meant to be viewed through a stereoscope. When viewed this way, the image appears three-dimensional. Stereographs were made using different photographic processes including albumen, printing-out and gelatin silver prints when each process was most popular. Mainly used between 1870-1920.

Unidentified Photographer, [Stereograph depicting a game of croquet], [between 1870-1879?] (Croquet_Box8_0006)
Richard Maynard, [Group of First Nations people], [between 1870 and 1880?] (UL_1018_0018)

Resources

Britannica, Carte-de-visite

The Getty Research Institute, Art & Architecture Thesaurus Online

Illumination and Commemoration, A History of the Lantern Slide

Image Permanence Institute, Graphic Atlas

Library and Archives Canada, LINGUA FRANCA - A Common Language for Conservators of Photographic Materials

Library of Congress, Stereograph Cards

Library of Congress, Thesaurus for Graphic Materials

MacOrdrum Library Archives and Special Collection, What are Lantern Slides?

Northeast Document Conservation Center, A Short Guide to Film Base Photographic Materials: Identification, Care, and Duplication

Oregon State University Libraries, Guide to Early Photographic Formats and Processes in the Special Collections and Archives Research Center

Preservation Self-Assessment Program, Collection ID Guide

Science and Media Museum, How to Spot a Cabinet Card (1866-c.1914)

Science and Media Museum, How to Spot a Carte de Visite (Late 1850s-c.1910)