Category Archive: Vintage Plates

21 Dec

Christmas procrastination

Christmas procrastination

I’ve got household Christmas chores to be doing but keep getting distracted by stuff in my collection. Every now and again I’ll have a rummage …

 
By Fourtoes
Also posted in Alternate Processes
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20 Jun

Victorian wet plate negatives and some news.

Victorian wet plate negatives and some news.

I realise I haven’t posted these quarter plate collodion negatives on the blog following the April Fools post (sorry about that, especially to those that …

 
By Fourtoes
Also posted in Misc
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19 Feb

Doppelgängers and Spectres

Doppelgängers and Spectres

I bid on some nondescript quarter plate glass negatives on Ebay and had a sneaking suspicion they were trick double exposure photography….. or three sets …

 
By Fourtoes
Also posted in Misc
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10 Feb

A family album – Chester

A family album – Chester

I bought this photograph album at a house clearance stall at a local antique fair a week or so ago. There’s no text to give any …

 
By Fourtoes
Also posted in Misc
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24 Jan

Cyanotypes – Bedford Lemere & Co.

Cyanotypes – Bedford Lemere & Co.

I’m sure some of you are aware that I’m not a big fan of the “blueprint”. I’m far more accommodating if it’s been toned in some …

 
By Fourtoes
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19 Jan

Woodburytypes – Men of Mark

Woodburytypes – Men of Mark

I noticed I have some gaps in my collection and thought it would be interesting to try and fill them with some affordable examples. I’ve always been …

 
By Fourtoes
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08 Jan

Ruby ambrotypes and over-painted portraits

Ruby ambrotypes and over-painted portraits

This years first arrivals. Two heavily overpainted framed portraits of a young couple. 12×15 inch. One has a partially rubbed label to the reverse: “Porteous Art Shop 120 …

 
By Fourtoes
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20 Aug

Slim Pickings

Slim Pickings

Popped into the local antiques fair today, slim pickings indeed, not even any crazily over priced photographic material. There were the usual boxes of postcards, cabinet …

 
By Fourtoes
Also posted in Misc
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26 Jul

Tinted Whole Plate Ambrotypes

Tinted Whole Plate Ambrotypes

To say I am very happy with these two whole plate ambrotypes would be a slight understatement. They had been advertised on Feepay for not …

 
By Fourtoes
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20 Jul

The Jamiesons

The Jamiesons

I couldn’t resist this set of family portraits dating from February – October, 1884. I’m assuming its Father, Mother, Son and Daughter.Amazing quality and a pleasure to …

 
By Fourtoes
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17 Jun

Edwardian Wet Plates?

Edwardian Wet Plates?

Picked these glass plate negatives up off Feepay recently, the seller had a large number of them, I bought a handful of the better ones …

 
By Fourtoes
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25 May

Jones the Chemist

Jones the Chemist

A Dry Plate (1/2) negative of Jones the Chemist. I bought this for a couple of pounds of Feepay just because of the window content. …

 
By Fourtoes
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09 May

The Spencer Collection

The Spencer Collection

Just a very quick blog post before I head to the airport. I’m speaking at the 2+3D Photography Conference at the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam tomorrow and just wanted …

 
By Fourtoes
Also posted in Misc
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21 Feb

Egypt – A Dry Plate Holiday

Egypt – A Dry Plate Holiday

Box of quarter plates, a mix of portraits and a trip to Egypt, Luxor I think…. A hobbyist photographer. “In Loving Memory of Jane Andrew, Widow …

 
By Fourtoes
Also posted in Misc
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20 Feb

Acquaintance and collections

Acquaintance and collections

I picked up an ebay item last week from Janet, who turned out to be a fellow collector. We got chatting as you do when …

 
By Fourtoes
Also posted in Misc
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16 Feb

The Riley Jones Collection

The Riley Jones Collection

I’m calling these the Riley Jones Collection, kindly donated by Gwen Riley Jones. A box full of half plates and a handful of quarter plates. …

 
By Fourtoes
Also posted in Misc
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09 Feb

Ambrotype of a young girl

Ambrotype of a young girl

A lovely quarter plate uncased ambrotype, added to the collection, I thought it might have been in a worse condition than it actually is. It was advertised …

 
By Fourtoes
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19 Jan

More to the Collection…

More to the Collection…

I think its about time I catalogued and stored my historic photography collection properly. It becoming a little uncontrolled. Here are some further additions. A mix …

 
By Fourtoes
Also posted in Misc
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04 Dec

Dry Plates and Albumen Print

Dry Plates and Albumen Print

Recent Feepay purchases to add to my collection. Three half plates (Dry) and a lovely whole plate albumen print. And this Bearded chap being the reason I …

 
By Fourtoes
Also posted in Misc
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27 Oct

Job lot of glass plate negatives…

Job lot of glass plate negatives…

Another job lot of glass plate negatives from Feepay. I do like a good job lot as you never know whats you are going to …

 
By Fourtoes
Also posted in Misc
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05 Sep

Welsh dry plate negatives 1906?

Welsh dry plate negatives 1906?

Another job lot of dry plate negatives, I was hoping they were half plate so I could re use the wooden box for my own …

 
By Fourtoes
Also posted in Misc
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10 Aug

Stereo Negatives – Blackburn area.

Stereo Negatives – Blackburn area.

This is the box of Stereo 45×107 mm glass negatives I mentioned in a previous post, bought at an antiques fair in Wetherby, West Yorkshire. Verascope, Polyscope and …

 
By Fourtoes
Also posted in Misc
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09 Aug

A productive weekend…

A productive weekend…

It’s been a busy few weeks and the next few weekends are booked up with more events. A couple of weeks ago I was in West Wales …

 
By Fourtoes
Also posted in Misc
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26 Feb

Wet Plate Negatives of Coventry

Wet Plate Negatives of Coventry

These have been sitting on my desk at work for a while, waiting for me to digitise them. I bought them last second on Feepay …

 
By Fourtoes
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04 Nov

Ramsgate – a Victorian Albumen print

Ramsgate – a Victorian Albumen print

Just arrived in the post today. A lovely large albumen print of Ramsgate beach. Look closer and you can see the beach photographers wet plate darkroom …

 
By Fourtoes
Also posted in Misc
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30 Aug

What you reading?

What you reading?

What also interests me about Historic photographs is not just the subject matter but also the added paraphernalia. Whether its about whats going on around …

 
By Fourtoes
Also posted in Misc
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23 Aug

Victorian Photoshop anyone?

Victorian Photoshop anyone?

Following on from the previous Albumen print blog post which show some of the negative re touching showing up in the print I thought I’d …

 
By Fourtoes
Also posted in Misc
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21 Aug

Albumen Print by Balmain of Edinburgh

Albumen Print by Balmain of Edinburgh

This is a lovely Albumen portrait print of a young woman by Balmain of Edinburgh. As the prices of Victorian ambrotypes/tintypes continues to rise I’ve …

 
By Fourtoes
Also posted in Misc
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07 Aug

Wet Plate Negatives 1876

Wet Plate Negatives 1876

I’ve been digitising a pile of Ambrotypes, Dageurrotypes and negatives (wet&dry) that have been sitting in a box at the studio over the past few months. These …

 
By Fourtoes
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06 Aug

Very large solar prints maybe?

Very large solar prints maybe?

These arrived yesterday, I had bought them from the usual Feepay for a grand total of £4 which included postage?! How they can do that …

 
By Fourtoes
Also posted in Misc
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31 Jul

An Opalotype

An Opalotype

Just arrived on my desk is this lovely 10″x8″ Opalotype of a very dapper young gent! Its in excellent condition and survived being shipped to me. …

 
By Fourtoes
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30 Jun

Daguerreotype siblings

Daguerreotype siblings

Heres another lovely daguerreotype I’ve added to the collection, of a young boy and his sister. Its in excellent condition but a little dusty inside, I’ll …

 
By Fourtoes
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27 Jun

The Brierley Family

The Brierley Family

These two ambrotypes were for sale at a local auction house, I had left a commission bid and had surprisingly won when I checked my …

 
By Fourtoes
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17 Jun

Mrs Lewthwaite & William Lewthwaite

Mrs Lewthwaite & William Lewthwaite

My heart sank when I opened this recent purchase. The sound of glass rattling about is never a good sign. Luckily it was only the …

 
By Fourtoes
Also posted in Misc
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12 May

Mr Langtons Parlour Portrait

Mr Langtons Parlour Portrait

Two framed tinted albumen prints by James Arthur Langton. I didn’t buy these for the actual photographs but more for the printed details on the …

 
By Fourtoes
Also posted in Misc
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01 May

New ambrotypes to the collection

New ambrotypes to the collection

A couple of little ambrotypes to add to the collection. Prices continue to rise for vintage plates on Feepay, especially for ones in decent cases. People …

 
By Fourtoes
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27 Feb

Introducing Miss Dunlop

Introducing Miss Dunlop

I bought these a couple of months ago, thanks to the help of Andrew for picking them up and sending them on to me. The online …

 
By Fourtoes
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05 Feb

Dry Plate – A building site

Dry Plate – A building site

Heres another dry plate neg from a recent batch of purchases. This one is of a building site in Swanwick, Derbyshire dated August 1914, attributed …

 
By Fourtoes
Also posted in Misc
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