Tintype...

A tintype, also known as a melainotype or ferrotype, is a photograph made by creating a direct positive on a thin sheet of metal coated with a dark lacquer or enamel and used as the support for the photographic emulsion. Tintypes enjoyed their widest use during the 1860s and 1870s.

Tintype portraits were at first usually made in a formal photographic studio, like daguerreotypes and other early types of photographs, but later they were most commonly made by photographers working in booths or the open air at fairs and carnivals, as well as by itinerant sidewalk photographers. Because the lacquered iron support (there is no actual tin used) was resilient and did not need drying, a tintype could be developed and fixed and handed to the customer only a few minutes after the picture had been taken.

My Mom had this tintype on her entertainment center for years. I know they are some of her relatives, but I can't remember who she said they were. Ugh... I should have written more information down. I have so many of the Ames family pictures and I have no idea who they are. I should have gone through the pictures with her, huge regret. I am grateful for the pictures that I have, and especially for the ones the have names and dates.