The age of collodion. The wide spread process of collodion and newly invented spinoff processes of the ambrotype, the tintype and the care-de-visite, insured collodion’s rapid domination in the photography field. Ambrotypes were done on glass and were generally used in portraiture. After processing, the plate was lacquered with an opaque black on its backside or placed against black paper or velvet. The posing generally featured tight head and shoulder shots and were set in elaborately designed, molded, and hinged cases called Union Cases. The second collodion spin-off method is the ferrotype, Latin for iron, also known as tintypes. Tintypes featured soldiers and their families during the American Civil War because they were cheap, lightweight and durable. They were made on thin pieces of sheet iron, instead of glass, that were enameled black or brown-black and coated with collodion and sensitized just before an exposure was made. The third spin-off from collodion was the carte-de-visite, or visiting card. These were done by mounting photos on documents, such as licenses, passports, permits and visiting cards. The images mostly were sized to 2 ½" x 4" cards. The practice of collecting and exchanging photographs and placing them in embellished, manufactured albums flourished. Carte-de-visite of current events, politicians, royalty, actors, people in the news, natives, castles, foreign lands, and art were widely circulated.