An albertype is a picture printed from a form of gelatine plate produced by means of a photographic negative.
1896
The Albertype Company, owned by Herman L. Wittemann, published souvenir books, pamphlets, and postcards from 1890 to 1952, using a process invented by Austrian photographer Joseph Albert (1825-1886). The process using a collotype coating on glass plates permitted high speed mass production of photographs for the first time. Albertype photos also have an advantage that although the paper may yellow, the inks, unlike normal photographs, do not fade. The company would have photographs taken by its own agents and would also arrange to utilize photographs taken by others. Thus, Albertype postcards provide a valuable documentation of scenes that no longer exist.