Carte de Visite
Albumen-print portraits on small card mounts — the calling-card photo of the Civil War era.
Antique CDV Circa 1860s Claflin's Old Bearded Man In Suit & Vest Worcester MA
Antique CDV Circa 1860s Jordan & Co. Handsome Man With Mustache New York NY
Antique CDV Circa 1860s C.d. Fredricks Handsome Bearded Man Tophat New York NY
Antique CDV Circa 1860s Cute Young Girl In Dark Ruffled Dress Hidden Mother
Antique CDV Circa 1860s Three Young Men In Religious Choir Surplices Unmarked
Antique CDV Circa 1860s Old Handsome Man In Dark Suit And Cravat Pose Unmarked
Antique CDV Circa 1860s Mccormick & Hayes Handsome Bearded Man In Suit Oxford PA
Antique CDV Circa 1860s Old Handsome Man With Curly Hair In Suit Bowtie Unmarked
Antique CDV Circa 1860s Old Lady Wearing Glasses Curly Hair Dark Dress Unmarked
Antique CDV Circa 1860s Old Lady In Dark Dress With Bonnet And Choker Unmarked
Antique CDV Circa 1860s Handsome Bearded Man Ira D. Sankey Suit Bow Tie
Antique CDV Circa 1860s C. H. Ravill Three Teenage Girls Beaded Collars Lyons Ny
Antique CDV Circa 1860s J. Gurney & Son Handsome Young Man Prince Of Wales NY
Antique CDV Circa 1860s Gorgeous Lady Pauline Lucca Austrian Operatic Soprano
Antique CDV Circa 1860s S. A. Thomas Cute Young Children New York NY
Antique CDV Circa 1860s J.C. Spooner Handsome Bearded Man In Suit Springfield MA
Antique CDV Circa 1860s S. Hall Morris Handsome Bearded Man In Suit Auburn NY
Antique CDV Circa 1870s E. L. Brand Handsome Man With Mustache Chicago Illinois
Antique CDV Circa 1870s Vaughan Cute Baby Hidden Mother San Francisco CA
Antique CDV Circa 1870s J.m. Hoag Cute Baby In White Dress In Carriage Adrian Mi
Antique CDV Circa 1870s M. Witt Young Gorgeous Lady Patterned Dress Columbus OH
Antique CDV Circa 1870s Cute Baby In Long White Gown & Floral Border Unmarked
Antique CDV Circa 1870s Geo. R. Kidder Handsome Young Hunchback Boy Watertown MA
Antique Advertising CDV Circa 1870s Lydia E. Pinkham Inventor and Marketer
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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