Carte de Visite
Albumen-print portraits on small card mounts — the calling-card photo of the Civil War era.
Antique CDV Taylor Samuel Stanley Bearded Man Top Hat Cane Manchester UK
Antique CDV 1870s Young Girl Striped Dress Pantaloons Standing Portrait
Antique CDV Empress Eugenie Of France Portrait Lace Collar Choker Bow
Antique CDV 1882 T Fall Lady Lace Bonnet Dress Baker St London UK
Antique CDV Rcd Hardy Elderly Woman Lace Collar Bonnet Doncaster UK
Antique CDV Silli Bearded Man Bow Tie Suit Jacket Portrait Nice France
Antique CDV A. Brothers Elderly Gentleman Clergy Coat Manchester UK
Antique CDV Oldham & Cooper Bearded Man Signature Birmingham UK
Antique CDV 1870s Handsome Bearded Man Mustache Suit Jacket Pocket Square
Antique CDV Greenish Elderly Woman Bonnet Shawl Dorset Square London UK
Antique CDV Brown Barnes Bell Bearded Man Suit Portrait London Liverpool
Antique CDV 1860s Handsome Young Man Seated in Armchair Holding Top Hat
Antique CDV Fradelle & Marshall Woman Braided Hair Bun Brooch London UK
Antique CDV Arthur Nicholls Portrait Young Woman High Collar Sandown Iow
Antique CDV Brown Barnes Bell Young Woman Brooch High Collar Portrait London UK
Antique CDV 1860s Woman Hoop Skirt Dress Striped Trim Profile Portrait
Antique CDV 1870s J Andrews Emilie Goulder Woman Gown Swansea Carmarthen
Antique CDV Negretti & Zambra Baby Martyn Fur Chair Crystal Palace Sydenham UK
Antique CDV Archd Rogers Elderly Woman Lace Shawl Bonnet Lanark Scotland
Antique CDV J H Curtis Woman High Collar Dress Flower Basket London UK
Antique CDV W Sherrell Victorian Lady Ruffled Tiered Dress Birmingham UK
Antique CDV 1860s Woman Long Necklace Full Skirt Dress Chair Portrait
Antique CDV 1870s Chas W Smartt Bearded Man Portrait Leamington England
Antique CDV 1870s Chas Keeping Bearded Man Portrait Exeter Devon UK
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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