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How did tintypes become a form of street photography?

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Alfred Stieglitz: Child with Striped Dress (Younger Raab Child) — History of photography *Child with Striped Dress (Younger Raab Child)*, autochrome photograph by Alfred Stieglitz, 1907; in the Art Institute of Chicago.

The tintype became a staple of street photography primarily due to its affordability, durability, and ease of production. Unlike more complex or fragile photographic methods of the 19th century, the tintype utilized a wet collodion process applied to thin, black-enameled iron sheets, making the final product inexpensive to create and purchase.12

Because these images were robust and did not require the elaborate, costly cases used for daguerreotypes or ambrotypes, they were highly accessible to the general public. By the 1860s, the practice of housing them in cases was largely abandoned in favor of simple paper envelopes, further reducing costs.12

These factors allowed street photography to flourish, as itinerant photographers could easily set up at parks, fairs, beaches, and street corners to offer quick, informal portraits to working people and immigrants. This accessibility helped the tintype persist as a form of folk art well into the 20th century, with street-corner photographers often traveling with equipment and even animals, such as donkeys, to attract customers.12