Carte de Visite
Albumen-print portraits on small card mounts — the calling-card photo of the Civil War era.
Antique CDV 1860s W.H. Broad Bearded Man Seated Table Bodmin Cornwall UK
Antique CDV 1870s W Hoffert Francis Hill Bearded Man Dresden Germany
Antique CDV Pouncy Woman Profile Portrait Ringlets Hair Dorchester UK
Antique CDV 1870s W.E. Dalton Young Woman Large Bow Tie Sheffield UK
Antique CDV Jeffries Young Man Suit Tie Vest Southport United Kingdom
Antique CDV J.A. Willan Baby in Plaid Dress White Pinafore Sheffield England
Antique CDV 1880s Cute Toddler Baby Girl Curly Hair Fringed Chair Portrait
Antique CDV Wilhelm Schiller Father Two Sons Boys Uniforms Frankfurt Germany
Antique CDV 1870s Lombardi & CO Bearded Man Portrait London Brighton UK
Antique CDV 1860s A.H. Bool Young Boy Plaid Dress Eaton Square London UK
Antique CDV 1880s W H Fellows Dapper Man Mustache Enfield Town UK
Antique CDV Mr & Mrs Ward Young Woman Full Length Dress Brixton Walworth London
Antique CDV Unmarked
Antique CDV 1870s Sarony Young Girl Lace Dress Ornate Chair Scarborough
Antique CDV Brigham Bearded Man in Hat Overcoat Rustic Fence Scarboro Maine
Antique CDV London Stereoscopic CO Bearded Man Top Hat Umbrella London UK
Antique CDV 1870 D Blagrove Young Man Bow Tie Suit Lewes Sussex UK
Antique CDV 1870s J F Latham Lattimer Couple Fashion Islington London UK
Antique CDV 1892 John Burton & Sons Beatrice Harris Leicester UK Portrait
Antique CDV 1860s G Peverelli Portly Gentleman Seated Chair Liverpool UK
Antique CDV 1880s Handsome Young Man Bow Tie Suit Portrait Vignette
Antique CDV 1870s Triptree & Sons Charles Triptree Artist Walworth Road UK
Antique CDV 1870 H. B. Medcalfe Dapper Man Cane Hat Tenby South Wales
Antique CDV 1884 Albert E Coe Mother & Baby Winifred Norwich UK Portrait
The carte de visite (CDV) is a small albumen photograph mounted on a stiff card the size of a calling card. First proposed by Louis Dodero in 1851 and patented in France by André Disdéri in 1854, CDVs became a worldwide craze after Disdéri photographed Emperor Napoleon III in 1859 — and stayed in production into the 1920s, collected and pasted into family albums by the millions.
HistoryOrigin & era
CDVs are produced from a glass-plate negative printed onto thin albumen paper, then trimmed and pasted to a card mount. Studios printed them by the dozen; the same sitter could order several copies of the same exposure to hand out. The format was largely displaced by the larger cabinet card from the 1880s onward, though CDV-sized prints continued to be made by smaller studios and itinerant photographers into the 1920s.
IdentificationHow to spot a CDV
- Card mount roughly 2½ × 4 inches.
- Albumen print — slight surface gloss, often warm brown or sepia tones.
- Studio imprint usually on the back (photographer + city).
- Square-cornered mounts are earlier (c. 1860s); rounded corners and decorated backs come in later.
- Tax revenue stamps on the back date it to 1864–1866 (U.S. Civil War tax).
CDV sizes
CDVs are largely standardized — the mount size barely varies — but the photo on the mount and the mount stock evolved over time.
| Format | Inches | Millimeters | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard CDV mount | 2½ × 4 in | 64 × 100 mm | Universal mount size from the 1860s on. |
| Albumen print on mount | ≈ 2⅛ × 3½ in | ≈ 54 × 89 mm | Photo trimmed to fit the mount with a small border. |
| Victoria (mini-CDV) | 3¼ × 5 in | 83 × 127 mm | Brief 1870s variant — slightly larger than standard. |
Common questions
What is a CDV photograph?
A carte de visite (CDV) is a small albumen photograph mounted on a card the size of a calling card — roughly 2½ × 4 inches. The format was first proposed by Louis Dodero in 1851 and patented in France by André Disdéri in 1854. CDVs were the dominant portrait format from the early 1860s through the 1870s and continued to be made into the 1920s.
How can I tell if a CDV is from the Civil War era?
A revenue tax stamp on the back dates a CDV to between August 1864 and August 1866 — the only window when the U.S. taxed photographs. Square corners, plain mounts, and two-line photographer imprints also point to the 1860s; rounded corners and elaborate decorated backs are 1870s and later.
How much is an antique CDV worth?
Common 1870s studio portraits typically run $5–$25, while Civil War soldier images, identified subjects, occupational portraits, and outdoor scenes can run from $75 into the thousands. Condition, identification, and historical interest of the sitter drive value far more than age alone.
Are CDVs and cabinet cards the same thing?
No — they share the albumen process but cabinet cards are larger (about 4¼ × 6½ inches on heavier card stock) and came into vogue in the late 1860s. CDVs and cabinet cards coexisted from roughly 1866 into the 1890s before cabinets took over the standard portrait market.
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