Carte de Visite
Albumen-print portraits on small card mounts — the calling-card photo of the Civil War era.
Antique CDV 1860s J & G Turner Woman Velvet Jacket Crinoline Glasgow UK
Antique CDV 1870s W C Clark Young Man Standing Fur Rug Brighton England
Antique CDV H Edwards Nellie Young Woman Lace Collar Necklace Brighton UK
Antique CDV Thos North Young Woman Portrait Drawing Illustration Dublin
Antique CDV A.R. Macwilliams Young Man Bow Tie Velvet Collar Glasgow UK
Antique CDV 1890s W Clark Young Man Tweed Suit Tie Buckie Scotland
Antique CDV G. Penny Woman High Collar Brooch Portrait Huntly Scotland
Antique CDV J.W. Thomas Handsome Man Mustache Sideburns Suit Hastings England
Antique CDV Brown & Draycott Handsome Man Mustache Tweed Suit Walsall UK
Antique CDV 1860s D Abrahams Bearded Man Holding Top Hat Column Bath UK
Antique CDV W J Wellsted Young Man Suit Vest Oval Portrait Hull UK
Antique CDV 1880s J Katterns Young Man Portrait Northampton England
Antique CDV 1860s Two Young Women Striped Bodice Hoop Skirt Dresses Pose
Antique CDV 1890s Woman High Collar Brooch Puff Sleeves Profile Portrait
Antique CDV 1870s E Gottheil Bearded Man Bow Tie Mile End Road London UK
Antique CDV Unmarked
Antique CDV A Eason & CO Toddler Baby Fur Rug Kingsland Dalston Lane UK
Antique CDV Warwick Brookes Jun Handsome Bearded Man Manchester UK Portrait
Antique CDV Johnston & CO Baby in White Gown On Fur Rug Stoke Newington
Antique CDV R.W. Brown Young Woman Ruffled Collar Weston-S-Mare UK
Antique CDV 1880s Young Man Bust Portrait Patterned Tie Dark Coat Oval
Antique CDV 1880s Mother Two Sons Lennie Ralph Alice Plaid Dress Suit
Antique CDV 1880s T Trigg Baby Sitting in Fur Chair Kendal Westmorland UK
Antique CDV 1870s D. Ord Bearded Man Vignette Portrait St. Bees England
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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