Carte de Visite
Albumen-print portraits on small card mounts — the calling-card photo of the Civil War era.
Antique CDV 1860s Seated Woman Full Silk Hoop Skirt Dress Fringe Table
Antique CDV 1870s Fradelle Woman Pearl Necklace Portrait London UK
Antique CDV 1870s Birchley Seated Woman Striped Dress Birmingham UK
Antique CDV Deneulain & Blake Woman Velvet Armchair London UK Portrait
Antique CDV 1860s Lambert Weston Woman Ringlet Hair Dover Folkestone UK
Antique CDV 1860s J.G. Barrable Woman Full Skirt Dress Regent St London UK
Antique CDV 1860s H Hughes Dapper Man Sitting Cross Legged London UK
Antique CDV 1882 W H Prestwich Young Man Mustache Suit Bow Tie London UK
Antique CDV 1880 Math. Hansen Woman Lace Collar Medal Stockholm Sweden
Antique CDV Parisian Photographic CO Elderly Gentleman Cane Top Hat London UK
Antique CDV R Boning CO Rev W S Marsh Cleric St Leonards On Sea UK
Antique CDV 1870s J Walker Mrs Edward Hall Barnsley England Woman Portrait
Antique CDV 1870s Finch Bros Dapper Man Sitting Leg Crossed London UK
Antique CDV 1870s R Hatt Girl Polka Dot Dress Pantaloons New Cross London
Antique CDV J Mahoney Young Child Sitting Fur Rug Chair Malton Yorkshire
Antique CDV 1880s C Norris Young Man Suit Watch Chain Birmingham UK
Antique CDV London School Of Photography Young Boy Knickerbocker Suit Chair
Antique CDV W L Shrubsole Woman Curly Hair High Collar Norwich Norfolk
Antique CDV Hugh Owen Portrait Woman Braided Hair Earrings Barmouth Wales
Antique CDV 1870s Bearded Man in Waistcoat Devonshire Road London
Antique CDV 1880 H.J. Whitlock Handsome Man Mustache Suit Birmingham UK
Antique CDV B J Edwards Young Woman Lace Collar Hair Updo Hackney London
Antique CDV Harry Grayson Man Mustache Striped Vest Blackburn England
Antique CDV Ward's Studio Young Woman Curly Hair Reading Hounslow 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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