Pabst — Original Handmade Tintype

This is Pabst — Original Handmade Tintype

This is not a print. This is a real, physical tintype photograph made to order using the historic wet plate collodion process.

For each order, I photograph an actual PBR 6-pack directly onto a metal plate using essentially the same photographic process developed in the 1850s. The plate itself becomes the photograph—there is no paper print and no digital image transferred onto it.

To make one, I hand-coat the plate with collodion, sensitize it in silver nitrate, expose it in-camera while the chemistry is still wet, develop it by hand, fix it, wash it, dry it, and finish it for protection. The entire process is chemical, hands-on, temperamental, and wonderfully imperfect.

That means every tintype is completely unique.

Small variations in exposure, chemical flow, edges, streaks, silver patterns, texture, and other imperfections are normal and are part of what makes wet plate photography special. Your plate will closely resemble the example shown, but no two can ever be exactly alike.

Basically, I am using a 170-year-old photographic process to immortalize PBR. History has been waiting for this moment.

Important Disclaimer

Because of the wet plate tintype process, the final image will be mirror-reversed. That means lettering, logos, and other directional details will appear backward in the finished piece. This is a natural result of how tintypes are made and is part of the historic character of the process—it is not a defect.

Made to Order

Because these are individually photographed and processed by hand, they are not pulled from a stack of pre-made prints. After you place your order, I make your tintype specifically for you.

Wet plate photography can also be a little unpredictable. Occasionally a plate needs to be photographed again before I am happy enough with it to send it out. Because of that, please allow additional production time before shipping.

Please allow approximately 1–2 weeks for your tintype to be created, finished, and prepared for shipment. Shipping time is additional.