Cabinet Card
The bigger sibling of the CDV — large albumen portraits on heavy ornamental mounts.
Antique Cabinet Card 1890s Young Man Handsome Portrait Suit Bow Tie Vignette
Cabinet Card Circa 1890s Mandeville Woman Ornate Embroidered Collar Lowville NY
Antique Cabinet Card 1880s F Girard Man Mustache Patterned Tie Suit Portrait
Antique Cabinet Card 1890s Temple Woman Short Curly Hair Flowers Clinton
Antique Cabinet Card 1890s E D H Schutter Man Woman Couple Studio Rochester NY
Antique Cabinet Card 1890s Gibbon Bros Woman Bust Portrait Utica NY High Collar
Antique Cabinet Card 1880s Doane Victorian Woman Curly Hair Flowers Bloomfield
Antique Cabinet Card 1880s Fearn Man Mustache Suit Vest Tie Philadelphia PA
Antique Cabinet Card 1880s Handsome Young Man Bowtie Suit Jacket Portrait
Antique Cabinet Card 1890s Young Three Men Suits Mustache Tree Stump York PA
Antique Cabinet Card 1890s Worden Young Woman Puff Sleeves Pin Chicago
Antique Cabinet Card 1880s Mccormick Woman Lace Collar Earrings Boston
Antique Cabinet Card 1880s Chas Lainer Older Woman Lace Brooch San Francisco
Antique Cabinet Card 1880s Elite Studio Young Man M E Page Jr Chicago
Antique Cabinet Card 1890s Oval Group Portrait Trio Man Two Women Fashion
Antique Cabinet Card 1880s Older Woman High Collar Dress Locket Pendant Photo
Antique 1880s Cabinet Card Kenyon & Son Young Woman Striped Dress New London
Cabinet Card Circa 1890s Harvey Young Man Suit Collar Tie Pocket Chicago IL
Antique Cabinet Card 1890s Geo F Riel Portrait Married Couple Chicago
Antique Cabinet Card 1880s B. F. Ogden & Sons Older Man Sideburns Pittsfield
Antique Cabinet Card 1890s A. M. Bean Woman Curly Hair Lace Collar Lawrence
Antique Cabinet Card 1880s Stern ElderlyBlack Woman Oval Cameo Brooch Dark Dress
Antique Cabinet Card 1890s Foster Woman Patterned Dress Brooch Richmond
Antique Cabinet Card 1880s Foster Campbell CO Man Double Breasted Richmond
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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