Carte de Visite
Albumen-print portraits on small card mounts — the calling-card photo of the Civil War era.
Antique CDV W Emmett Mother & Daughter Victorian Tiered Dress Staleybridge UK
Antique CDV 1880s Edward Peakome Woman Lace Collar Portrait Sheffield UK
Antique CDV A & G Taylor Woman Lace Collar Brooch Brighton UK
Antique CDV C. Yardley's Royal Photographic Studio Man Top Hat Chair
Antique CDV 1865 Nelson & Marshall Man Tweed Jacket Dublin Ireland
Antique CDV 1890s Toddler Girl Curly Hair White Ruffle Dress Fur Chair
Antique CDV Theweneti Bros Toddler Girl White Dress Plaid Sash Bath UK
Antique CDV A. Letalle Handsome Bearded Man Suit Portrait Birmingham UK
Antique CDV Oldham & Cooper Woman Braided Hair Lace Collar Birmingham UK
Antique CDV South London Photo CO Victorian Woman Bustle Dress Peckham London
Antique CDV W Kent Young Man Suit Bow Tie Eastbourne Sussex UK
Antique CDV 1880 A & G Taylor Bearded Man Suit Derby United Kingdom
Antique CDV J & E Owen Young Man Frock Coat Newtown North Wales
Antique CDV James Exley Young Woman Curly Hair Necklace Bradford Shipley UK
Antique CDV A. Letalle Toddler Baby Curly Hair Portrait Birmingham UK
Antique CDV London Stereoscopic CO Man Frock Coat Column Cheapside UK
Antique CDV Flukes & CO E Dunn Late Young Man Clerical Collar Sideburns Bath UK
Antique CDV J Brown Elderly Bearded Man Profile Portrait Rhyl Wales UK
Antique CDV Braithwaite Bearded Man in Suit Leeds Yorkshire England
Antique CDV 1860s Mr Rolph Woman in Silk Dress Gracechurch St London UK
Antique CDV 1870s A L Henderson Woman Sitting Velvet Chair London UK
Antique CDV 1870 Ferd Mulnier Bust Portrait Man Sideburns Paris France
Antique CDV 1880 Villiers & Sons Couple Newport Mon Wales UK Portrait
Antique CDV Henry T Reed Young Woman Fringed Armrest London 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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