Daguerreotypes

Daguerreotypes were images produced on a silver-coated copper plate. The process was in 1839 invented by Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre (1787 to 1851), a Frenchman who had formerly been a stage designer, set painter and creator of dioramas. Daguerreotypes most popular from about the 1840s to the 1860s. One way they can be recognized is by the high contrast brilliance with bright whites and deep blacks. Because of the long exposure time and the serious approach most sitters had to the process of having their image documented, daguerreotypes often show people with a fairly stiff and stern expression. Daguerreotypes could be hand-tinted, usually with gold highlighting any jewelry in the picture, and perhaps pink in the cheeks. Daguerreotypes allowed only one image and duplicates could not be produced.

 

Ambrotypes

Ambrotypes were negative images on a glass plate, made positive by the addition of a black backing, and each image was one-of-a-kind. Frederick Scott Archer, an Englishman, introduced this process in 1854, and it was done from the mid 1850s to the mid 1890s, with the height of it's popularity during the Civil War. Ambrotypes are not as high-contrast as daguerreotypes so the images will be shades of gray with no bright whites. Because they were done on glass, they are more fragile than tintypes.
 

Tintypes, Ferrotypes

Tintypes were images produced in the negative on a thin iron plate and made positive with an undercoating of black Japan varnish. Invented by Prof. Hamilton Smith of Ohio, these were popular  for a long period from the 1850s-1930s. Cased tintypes were last produced in about 1867, but they were done in other forms through the first third of the 20th century. Because they were less expensive to produce than daguerreotype and ambrotypes, more of them were made. They could be tinted as well.
 

Cases

Cases were made on a wooden base that would have been covered in cloth, leather or paper mache and embossed. They were also molded out of plastic made from shellac and wood fibers and these were called "Union Cases". Floral and geometrical design were popular and common, although patriotic and other more intricate motifs can be found as well. Some cases were inlaid with mother-of-pearl.
 

Carte de Visites

Carte de Visites (visiting cards) were albumen prints popularized on France by Andre Adolphe Eugene Disderi in about 1854. Popular from the mid 1850s through about 1905, they usually measure approximately 2-1/2" by 3-1/2 to 4"" and are mounted on heavy paper cards that are slightly larger than the image. These were exchanges with friends somewhat like calling cards.
 

Cabinet Cards

Cabinet cards were also albumen photographs. They were approximately 4" by 5" and were mounted on cardboard,  usually a 4-1/2" by 6-1/2" card. Popular from about 1863 to 1920, they were introduced by the British firm of Windsor & Bridge.
 

Stereoscopes & Magic Lanterns
The stereoscope, while designed in the 1830s, was simplified and presented first in the Crystal Palace in London at the 1851 Great Exhibition. Stereo views can be found of people, cityscapes, activities and stories. Viewing these three-dimensional photos was a popular parlor entertainment.
Early Magic Lanterns were used both by itinerant traveling "lanternists" and in theaters.  Slides could be hand painted or printed, and the quality varied widely. By the 1900s, the magic lantern had evolved into the slide projector.  
 

Information Sources

Collector's Guide to Early Photographs by O. Henry Mace
"American Museum of Photography" web site
"Edin Photo" web site
"Early Photography" web site
"Photographic Process" web site
PhotoTree.com  web site
Magic Lanterns  Wikipedia