The Ferrotype Quarterly
Vol. IX
Chapter Three · The Long Sitting
— xiv —
Finding № 14 · Exposure economics
The plate rewards
patience
; the sitter pays for it in minutes.
Mean exposure time per portrait, 1855 — 1900 · seconds
90s
60s
30s
10s
2s
1867 · 72 sec — North River studio standard
1898 · 4 sec — gelatin emulsions arrive
1855
1865
1872
1880
1887
1894
1900
Daylight wet-plate portrait
Gaslit studio sitting (interior)
This is the
Tintype Wet Plate
design system, applied by
Curio Design
— a design-style library for AI agents. Full Tintype Wet Plate guide →
designbycurio.com/learn/tintype-wet-plate