Carte de Visite
Albumen-print portraits on small card mounts — the calling-card photo of the Civil War era.
Antique CDV 1886 W H Prestwich Mother & Son Portrait London UK
Antique CDV F Beales Young Woman Double Breasted Coat Boston
Antique CDV R Dighton Bearded Man Bust Portrait Weston Villa Cheltenham UK
Antique CDV 1880s A & G Taylor Young Woman Lace Collar Rose London UK
Antique CDV 1880 W Mobbs Boy in Suit Leaning On Fringed Chair Leicester
Antique CDV J. Brown Woman Striped Dress Sitting Chair London Belgrave Square
Antique CDV J Guggenheim Rev Prescott Bearded Man Suit Portrait Oxford England
Antique CDV 1870s Outon Portrait Woman Ringlet Hair Landport Portsmouth
Antique CDV 1880s Worthing Portrait CO Young Woman Portrait Worthing UK
Antique CDV John Thomas Bald Man Beard Holding Book Liverpool UK
Antique CDV Charles Norris Young Boy Suit Bow Tie Birmingham Bridgnorth
Antique CDV 1880s Charles Norris Young Woman Portrait Birmingham UK
Antique CDV 1870s Bannister Man Long Beard Double Breasted Coat Manchester
Antique CDV A Stott Woman Bouffant Hair Lace Collar Royal Studio Southport
Antique CDV 1870 Elliott & Fry Marquis Of Lorne Profile Portrait London
Antique CDV H.J. Whitlock Bearded Man Bust Portrait Birmingham UK
Antique CDV 1860s T & J Holroyd Seated Elderly Woman Harrogate Yorkshire
Antique CDV Marg. Buhringer Boy in Suit Standing By Flower Stand Rothenburg
Antique CDV Handsome Young Man Mustache Suit White Tie Oval Portrait Photo
Antique CDV 1864 John Burton & Sons Portly Man Cameo Portrait Leicester UK
Antique CDV 1860s C.M. Drayson Seated Woman Dark Silk Dress Canterbury UK
Antique CDV 1880s H Carpenter Woman Lace Collar Brooch London UK
Antique CDV Constantine Jennings Three Young Girls Sisters Hastings UK Photo
Antique CDV J. Bateman Young Woman Sitting Holding Letter Canterbury UK 1870s
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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