Carte de Visite
Albumen-print portraits on small card mounts — the calling-card photo of the Civil War era.
Antique CDV G. Beales Woman Full Length Silk Dress Crinoline Spalding UK
Antique CDV 1870s Man Chin Curtain Beard No Mustache Dark Coat Portrait
Antique CDV 1880 Brown Barnes Bell Baby Gown Fur Rug London Liverpool
Antique CDV 1860s Woman in Hoop Skirt Dress With Small White Dog Pet
Antique CDV 1890 Wilkinson Woman Floral Hat Cape Coat Gloves Sheffield UK
Antique CDV 1880s G.V. Yates Woman Lace Collar Curly Hair Sheffield UK
Antique CDV E Mentor CO Baby in White Gown On Fur Chair Southampton UK
Antique CDV Allen Nield Handsome Man Mustache Suit Leeds United Kingdom
Antique CDV 1860s Woman Crinoline Hoop Skirt Dress Southsea Portsmouth UK
Antique CDV J. A. Duncan Young Woman Victorian Dress Hairband Montrose Scotland
Antique CDV H Lenthall Distinguished Man Bow Tie London United Kingdom
Antique CDV 1870s C Combes Mrs Kenson Portrait Brighton UK Vignette
Antique CDV 1860s Elderly Man Sitting Table Book Suit Sideburns Portrait
Antique CDV W H Prestwich Elderly Woman Sitting Desk London UK
Antique CDV W & D Downey Bearded Man Portrait Newcastle On Tyne UK
Antique CDV 1870s James Wright Couple Portrait Blackpool Oldham UK
Antique CDV Louise Lefren Young Man Suit Bow Tie Stockholm Sweden Photo 1903
Antique CDV 1880s Delboy Man Mustache Suit Rustic Wood Fence Den Haag
Antique CDV 1880s J Owen Baby in White Dress On Folding Chair Salisbury UK
Antique CDV 1890s Delboy Young Woman High Collar Portrait Den Haag
Antique CDV William Johnson Bearded Man Sitting Suit Bradford Yorkshire UK
Antique CDV 1870 C Randall Man Standing Chair Bristol Bridge England
Antique CDV London School Of Photography Young Woman Crinoline Dress UK
Antique CDV Gve Narcisse Young Man Bow Tie Suit Portrait Bruxelles Belgium
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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