Unidentified man seated for a studio portrait, sixth plate Neff Patent "tintype", circa late 1850s to 1870s. The sitter is shown facing the camera wearing a jacket and vest with a necktie, posed against a plain studio background.

Tintypes are direct positive photographs made on lacquered iron plates rather than paper or glass. Early examples often bear plate maker’s marks and represent some of the earliest commercially manufactured tintype materials in the United States.

Neff’s Patent mark visible along the lower edge of the plate. The Neff patent refers to melainotype plates manufactured after Peter Neff acquired the American tintype process patent in 1856, making such marked plates characteristic of early tintype production.