The Ambrotype process also known as the glass plate photograph process was invented in the 1850s and was popular in many forms well into the early 1900s.  The first process was known as  the "wet plate" process,  this process required that the glass plate be coated, exposed, and then processed while the plate was still wet.  This required  the photographer to have his darkroom on location whenever he made plates.  By the 1870s wet plates were replaced by the "dry plate collodion" process.  In this process the photographer hand coated his plates in advance, waited for them to dry, then he could expose his plates at any time, and then develop them when he returned to his darkroom. 
     Our reproduction plates are hand made "dry plate" positive image Ambrotypes. The glass plate is first hand polished with distilled water, then it is coated with a special binding agent which is allowed to dry overnight. The plate is then hand coated with liquid Collodion in the darkroom, again it must dry over night.  The sensitized plate is  now exposed with the image, and then hand developed, fixed, and washed in the darkroom.  Once dry a beautiful, permanent, rare, and collectible, hand made photographic image  remains. With these hand made plates, each image is unique, as no two plates can be hand coated exactly the same. Our Plates come in two sizes,  3.5 x 5 inch and  5 x 7 inch.  Each plate in enclosed in a gift box with cotton or plastic padding.  Tintype or Ferrotype plates are also available in the same sizes.