Figure 1.--This English ambrotype was taken outdoors. It looks like a vicar has taken some of the boys of his parisoners on an outing, perhaps to the beach. Presumably a photographer had set up shop there. We do not note similar American Ambros. The boys do not look like they are dressed in 1850s styles. We would say they are dressed more like the 1870s or even the early-80. Notice the long pants the boys wear. We are not entirely sure if this reflects the date or working-class origins.

Ambros were made in any numbers during a relatively short period in America from about 1855 to the early-60s. This was certainly the case in America We do not yet have enough information to assess the time-line in Britain. Ambros and Dags are motly undated, We thus can only estimate the dates based on the fashions we see. And this is a problem as we don't feel as confident about dating English photographs as Amerivan images. We welcome reader assessments here. We know Ambrobs appeared n the nid-1850s. The Ambro on the previous page looks lke he 1850s to us. The Ambro here looks to have been made in the 1870s (figure 1). Notice that it was taken outdoors which was not common in America. We had assumed that the chronology for Ambros in America and Europe was the same, but this image does not look like the 50s to u. We would guess the 1870s. Thus suggests that Ambros continued to be made in England after they had disappeared in America. Other processes such as the inexpensive tin-type appeared about the same time. And even more importantly, the CDV appeared in the very late-1850s. The CDV first appeared in France during the late-1850s and by the early-60s was the dominant photographic format throughout Europe and North America. This of course affected the popularity of the Ambrotype. While we have found many American Ambros during this period, we have found relatively few British ones. The same is true of other European countries. We believe that patent laws impeded the rapid growth of the industry (both Dags and Ambros) in Europe compared to the United States. One ambro we have found seems dated around the 1870s ore even early-80s. much later than Americam anros. We do not yet have sufficent information on English ambros to know how common this was. We have even found one image that lookss like the 80s or early-90s. We have no conformation, however, tht Anbros were still being made at this late period. Of course the problem could be that we are not dating the images correctly. Most sources we have found dates Amros to the50s and 60s, but they are mostly about American Ambros. We have not yetfound a source going into any detail about English Ambros. Most sources we have found dates Amros to the 50s and 60s, bit they are mostly about American Ambros. We have not yet found a source going into any detail about English Ambros.

The 1850s

We know Ambros appeared in the mid-1850s, invented by Englishman Frederick Scott Archer. It is known as an Ambrotype because James Ambrose Cutting in America took out a patent on the process, essentially stealing the process--and his name stuck. The Ambro on the previous page looks lke he 1850s to us. Other processes such as the inexpensive tin-type appeared about the same time. And even more importantly, the CDV appeared in the very late-1850s. The CDV first appeared in France during the late-1850s, but was not yet a dominant format. The Anro had an advantage over Dags because they were less expensive, but like theDg could not be reproduced. They were arlier to colorize. . The polished metal plate made Dags expensive. Ambros in America primarily dated to the late-1860s and early-60s. Onc CDVs became popular in the 60s Ambos and Dags rapifly decclined. We suspect this was also the case in England. We have not found many English Ambros, in ontrast to the wealth of ambros in America, so can not make much of an acessment at this time. We believe a major factor here was patent law and the more aggressive business activity in America. It is interesting that there are so many more American Abros even though the process was invented in England.

The 1860s

The CDV very early in the 1860s became the dominant photographic format throughout Europe and North America. This of course affected the popularity of the Ambrotype. While we have found many American Ambros during this period, we have found relatively few British ones. The same is true of other European countries. We believe that patent laws impeded the rapid growth of the industry (both Dags and Ambros) in Europe compared to the United States.

The 1870s

The Ambro here looks to have been made in the 1870s (figure 1). Notice that it was taken outdoors which was not common in America. We had assumed that the chronology for Ambros in America and Europe was the same, but this image does not look like the 50s or early-60s when most Ambros were made to us. We would guess the 1870s. Thus suggests that Ambros continued to be made in England after they had disappeared in America. One ambro we have found seems dated around the 1870s ore even early-80s. much later than Americam anros. We do not yet have sufficent information on English ambros to know how common this was.

The 1880s

We have even found one image that looks like the 80s or early-90s. We have no conformation, however, tht Anbros were still being made at this late period. Of course the problem could be that we are not dating the images correctly. The 1880s seem well outside the time window for Anvros. But the fashions we see look much more like the 80s than 50s. we have not yet been able to explain this discrepancy. One reader suggests they may be tun-types. This is posibke as we are going in dealer descriptions. The metal matts, however, do suggest that they are ambros.

Created: 10:18 PM 6/25/2011
Last updated: 10:31 AM 9/15/2017