The wet plate, aka collodion, photographic process dates from 1851, having been invented by Frederick Scott Archer, an English sculptor. Archer did not seek a patent on his process, and in fact “died in extreme poverty.” An obituary described him as “a very inconspicuous gentleman, in poor health.”

There are two “types” of wet plate photography — ambrotype and tintype. An ambrotype, which was described by Archer, is based on glass, and a tintype is based on metal. ... http://edrossphotography.com/about/