Carte de Visite
Albumen-print portraits on small card mounts — the calling-card photo of the Civil War era.
Antique CDV Circa 1870s Artist William Hogarth With Pug Dog Portrait Unmarked
Antique CDV Circa 1880s A. Jennings Old Man Bowler Hat Smoking Keighley England
Antique CDV Circa 1870s Cute African American Young Girl In Victorian Dress &
Antique CDV Circa 1860s C. H. Ravell Young Man In Plaid Costume Wolcott NY
Antique CDV Circa 1870s Neurdein Old Man With Mustache Otto Von Bismarck Paris
Antique CDV Circa 1870s President James A. Garfield in Suit Portrait
African American Black Nanny White Girl Brooklyn NY Antique CDV 1880s
Antique CDV Circa 1860s Nichols Gorgeous Lady Fanny By Piano Cambridge England
Antique CDV Circa 1860s Young Lady In Dress With Sewing Box Lace Tablecloth
Antique CDV Circa 1860s Grand Duke Alexis Waltz of Russia In Military Uniform
Antique CDV Circa 1860s Serious Old Man White Hair Suit Patterned Bowtie
Antique CDV Circa 1860s Cute Young Cross-Eyed Lady In Dress With Bow Tie
Antique CDV Circa 1860s Neff Old Bearded Man High Collar Belleville Illinois
Antique CDV Circa 1860s Old Striking Bearded Man In Suit & Vest Revenue Stamp
ANTIQUE CDV CIRCA 1860s CIVIL WAR GENERAL DON CARLOS BUELL UNION ALBUM FILLER
ANTIQUE CDV CIRCA 1860s CIVIL WAR GENERAL GEORGE B. McCLELLAN UNION ALBUM FILLER
Antique CDV 1860s President Abraham Lincoln Patriotic Embossing Providence R.I.
ANTIQUE CDV 1886 TRADITIONAL JAPANESE LADY IN ROBES EATING MEAL HIOGO JAPAN
ANTIQUE CIRCA 1860s CDV BIZARRE TURKISH CHILD HOLDING SWORD AND DRUM RARE!
CIRCA 1870s CDV JOSIE MANSFIELD JIM FISK'S MISTRESS MURDERED BY NED STOKES
1865 ORIGINAL CDV REV JOHN PIERPONT AMERICAN POET AGE 80 ALEX GARDNER WASH D.C.
Antique CDV Circa 1860s Stuttgarter Conservatorium Faculty Staff Germany
Antique CDV Circa 1870s Miniature Ornate Cabinet With Mechanical Device
Antique CDV Circa 1870s E. Graybiel Handsome Man With Mustache Suit Adrian Mich.
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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