Carte de Visite
Albumen-print portraits on small card mounts — the calling-card photo of the Civil War era.
Antique CDV Circa 1860s Gorgeous Young Lady in Checkered Dress Seated Unmarked
Antique CDV Circa 1860s James Adams Handsome Bearded Man in Suit Birmingham UK
Antique CDV Circa 1860s Knox Gorgeous Lady In Dress With Curled Hair Chicopee MA
Antique CDV Circa 1860s Gorgeous Lady In Elegant Gown Seated Reading Unmarked
Antique CDV Circa 1860s Abbott Old Gorgeous Lady In Dress Seated Pose Albany NY
Antique CDV Circa 1860s Handsome Man In Frock Coat Standing with Chair Unmarked
Antique CDV Circa 1860s Gorgeous Lady In Elegant Gown With Braided Hair Unmarked
Antique CDV Circa 1860s P.T. Barnum Mrs. Tom Thumb Circus Freak New York
Antique CDV Circa 1860s President Ulysses S. Grant Civil War General in Uniform
Antique CDV Circa 1860s Civil War Union Navy Admiral David Farragut in Uniform
Antique CDV Circa 1860s Civil War Maj. Gen. G.K. Warren In Military Uniform
Antique CDV Circa 1860s Philip Sheridan Civil War Union General in Uniform
Antique CDV Circa 1860s Franz Sigel Major Civil War General Union Army Uniform
Antique CDV Circa 1860s Winfield Scott Civil War Union General in Uniform
Antique CDV Circa 1860s Civil War Union Navy Admiral David Farragut
Antique CDV Circa 1860s Samuel Ryan Curtis Civil War General Congressman
Antique CDV Circa 1860s Don Carlos Buell Civil War Union General in Uniform
Antique CDV Circa 1860s Winn Cute Child In Dress Henderson Texas
Antique CDV Circa 1860s George B. McClellan Civil War Union General in Uniform
Antique CDV Circa 1860s J.C. Spooner Old Man In Suit Springfield MA
Antique CDV Circa 1860s F.W. Haskins Bearded Man In Suit Holyoke MA
Antique CDV Circa 1860s Philip H. Sheridan Civil War Major General in Uniform
Antique CDV Circa 1860s Philip H. Sheridan Civil War Union General in Uniform
Antique CDV Circa 1860s General Ambrose Burnside Civil War Union Ornate Masque
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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