Cabinet Card
The bigger sibling of the CDV — large albumen portraits on heavy ornamental mounts.
Cabinet Card Circa 1890s Gunninggaard Two Men With Mustaches Sioux City
Cabinet Card Circa 1890s Heyn Young Husband And Wife Romantic Couple Omaha
Cabinet Card Circa 1890s Sproul & Son Handsome Young Man In Suit Fresno
Cabinet Card Circa 1890s Schillare Young Gorgeous Lady Ruffled Northampton
Cabinet Card Circa 1870s Loeffler Cute Boy Alonzo Wood Tricycle Tompkinsville NY
Cabinet Card Circa 1890s Sholfield Bros. Man Holding Rifle Hat Westerly
Cabinet Card Circa 1890s W. Smith Young Gorgeous Lady Wappingers Falls NY
Cabinet Card Circa 1880s Gorgeous Young Lady Curly Hair High Collar Dre Unmarked
Cabinet Card Circa 1900s Knight Handsome Man With Mustache In Suit Worcester
Cabinet Card Circa 1880s Mchenry Young Girl In White Dress Veil Freeport
Cabinet Card Circa 1880s Bogardus Handsome Man With Mustache NY NY
Cabinet Card Circa 1890s Gale. Funeral Floral Memorial Wreaths Joliet Aurora
Cabinet Card Circa 1880s Roshon Handsome Young Man Mustache Military Lebanon PA
Cabinet Card Circa 1870s Gilbert Old Gorgeous Lady In Dress Philadelphia PA
Cabinet Card Circa 1870s Prescott Two Cute Young Girls In Dresses Melrose
Cabinet Card Circa 1870s B. A. Mink Husband And Wife Romantic Couple Chicago
Cabinet Card Circa 1890s Wright Handsome Man With Mustache Princeton IN
Cabinet Card Circa 1880s Walter E. Chickering Gorgeous Lady In Dress Boston
Cabinet Card Circa 1880s Kimball Black Old Lady In Patterned Dress Boston
Cabinet Card Circa 1880s Nyemetz Gorgeous Lady In Dress Chester PA
Cabinet Card Circa 1880s Kimball Old Gorgeous Lady Lace Dress Cross Boston
Cabinet Card Circa 1900s Goats Grazing In Rural Farm Field With Man Unmarked
Cabinet Card Huddleston Gorgeous Lady in Beaded New Castle IN
Cabinet Card Circa 1890s N. P. Renouf Handsome Priest Biddeford ME
Cabinet cards are larger albumen photographs mounted on thicker, often decorated card stock. First offered in London in 1863 and reaching American studios by 1866, they were dominant from the 1880s through the early 1900s — the ‘Golden Age’ of the cabinet card runs roughly 1870 to 1895 — and continued in declining numbers into the 1920s.
HistoryOrigin & era
Cabinet cards offered the same albumen process as CDVs but at a size more flattering to detailed studio work. By the 1880s mounts grew elaborate — gold edges, embossed studio logos, chromolithographed backs. The format faded sharply after Eastman Kodak's 1900 Brownie put cameras in everyone's hands; few cabinet cards date after 1906, and the last were produced in the early 1920s.
IdentificationHow to spot a Cabinet Card
- Mount roughly 4¼ × 6½ inches.
- Heavier card stock than a CDV, often with rounded corners and gold or beveled edges.
- Photographer's imprint usually on the front below the photo, with elaborate logos on the back.
- Plain pale mounts are earlier (1870s); dark green, black, and gilt mounts are 1880s–1890s.
Cabinet Card sizes
Standard cabinet cards are remarkably consistent, but several larger "deluxe" formats were sold by the same studios.
| Format | Inches | Millimeters | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard cabinet card | 4¼ × 6½ in | 108 × 165 mm | Universal mount size. |
| Cabinet print on mount | ≈ 3¾ × 5½ in | ≈ 95 × 140 mm | Photo trimmed to fit with a narrow border. |
| Promenade | 4 × 7 in | 102 × 178 mm | Taller variant, popular 1875–1900. |
| Boudoir | 5¼ × 8½ in | 133 × 216 mm | Larger format for full-length portraits. |
| Imperial | 6⅞ × 9⅞ in | 175 × 251 mm | Largest of the cabinet-family mounts. |
| Panel | 4 × 8 in | 102 × 203 mm | Narrow, full-length portrait format. |
Common questions
What is a cabinet card?
A cabinet card is a Victorian-era portrait photograph — an albumen print mounted on a heavy card roughly 4¼ × 6½ inches. First offered in London in 1863 and arriving in American studios by 1866, cabinet cards were the standard portrait format from about 1880 through the early 1900s and continued in declining numbers into the 1920s.
How do I date a cabinet card?
Mount color and decoration are the best clues: pale buff or cream stock with a simple imprint is 1870s; dark gray or maroon with gold edges is mid-1880s; deep green, black, or chocolate brown with ornate gilt lettering is 1890s. Beveled edges with gold appear around 1885.
What are cabinet cards worth?
Generic studio portraits typically run $5–$20. Cards depicting identified subjects, occupational scenes, ethnographic subjects, post-mortem photography, or well-known photographers can range from $50 to several hundred dollars. Condition, sharpness of the print, and subject interest matter more than age.
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