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John Creates a Mammoth Ferrotype Tintype
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The FERROTYPE MAMMOTH PLATE Tintype: What you should know. (Video by Tom Delooza) • In the 19th century the largest Tintypes being made were 11x14 and no bigger. This was due to the fact that the factories that manufactured Ferrotype plates for the making of Tintypes didn’t make them any bigger. If a Tintypist wanted to make Tintypes in the Mammoth plate size range, he would have had to manufacture his own Mammoth size Ferrotype plates. Virtually no 19th century tintype photographers black japanned their own plates in any size, let alone Mammoth. In 2003, long practicing wet-plate collodion Ferrotype Tintype artist John Coffer did exactly that. His 20x24 inch Mammoth Ferrotype (meaning of iron) Tintypes were the first ever made. John was also the first to make 20x24 Wet-plate Glass Plate Negatives and Albumen prints from them in modern times, putting himself truly in league with the likes of 19th century legends such as W.H. Jackson, Carlton Watkins, and Edward Muybridge. A few folks, in recent years, have indeed been making Mammoth Plate glass Ambrotypes (positive collodion image on glass). The primary reason being they are much easier to do than all of the above mentioned creations. Without a doubt, big Ambrotypes can be very beautiful, but also incredibly fragile and prone to breakage. It’s not a matter of if but only when. The largest Ambrotypes of the 19th century were 6 ½ by 8 ½ inches, most were far smaller, and they were always put up in elegant padded cases or likewise frames. Enter the modern non-authentic, as easy as it gets, peal and pour aluminum plate tintype or aluminotype, as many call it. With the coming of this relatively cheap, black enameled on one side, readily available, just peal the plastic film off, pour on the collodion, aluminum, plate, many thousands have gotten into the act of making a modern form of tintype. A few have made them in impressive Mammoth sizes. But still, these are far easier to make than even a Mammoth Ambrotype, and infinitely less challenging to make than a real deal Ferrotype Tintype Mammoth. One of the characteristics of the aluminotype tintype is the blacks in the finished image are not quite as rich and deep as a real deal black japan finished Ferrotype Tintype. They are somewhat greyer and cooler. But, few know that, or want to. Many bank on the doctored up digital scan and then impressive, big, cheap, as easy as pushing a button, ink jet prints (sorry, limited edition“Archival Pigment Prints”) to carry the day. The fact is these items are radically inferior to a real deal truly handmade Ferrotype Tintype. The makers of such have shamelessly drifted away from the original spirit of Antiquarian Avant- Garde Photography or what has come to be known as Alternative Photography. The true history and facts have been glossed over by most aluminotypist inkjetists in the interest of ease, convenience, and $$$$$. The ballyhoo that the aluminotype tintype is on real “metal” (yep, aluminum is metal just like iron is metal) seems to be enough to impress the uneducated public too make a quick sale. Sadly, at this stage of the wet-plate collodion movement, the world has become so heavily saturated with and invested in the aluminotype “tintype masquerade”, it is just too painful for most to admit to its lesser qualities as compared to a for real Ferrotype Tintype. Perhaps this video will be seen as a swimming lesson against that race to the bottom. • For a closer look at some of John Coffer’s art Ferrotype Tintype Mammoth plates check his work available for sale on the Gerald Peter Gallery site: WWW.GPGALLERY.COM. And see lots more on John's website at http://www.johncoffer.com.
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