Carte de Visite
Albumen-print portraits on small card mounts — the calling-card photo of the Civil War era.
CDV Circa 1870s F.E. Carter Bearded Man In Suit Maidstone
CDV Circa 1870s Maull & Fox Handsome Man with Mustache London UK
CDV Circa 1870s Springthorpe & Co Handsome Young Man In Suit London UK
CDV Circa 1870s T. Bennett Lady In Dress Worcester England
CDV Circa 1870s W. Croft & Co Young Lady In Dress Newton Abbot
CDV Circa 1870s R.W. Gibbs Gorgeous Lady in Dress Middlesboro UK
CDV Circa 1870s A. MacNab Husband and Wife In Dress Glasgow
CDV Circa 1870s J.T. Clarke Husband and Wife Stockton-on-Tees
CDV Circa 1870s J. Chretien Family In Suit Arras France
CDV Circa 1870s W.P. Booth Handsome Man with Mustache In Suit Worksop
CDV Circa 1870s D.F. Slater Handsome Man With Flower Cheltenham
CDV Circa 1870s A.J. Pannell Handsome Man with Mustache Liverpool UK
CDV Circa 1870s Treble Gorgeous Lady in Dress Hastings UK
CDV Circa 1870s Wheeler & Day Handsome Man In Suit Oxford UK
CDV Circa 1870s A.G. Taylor Bearded Man In Suit Liverpool
CDV Circa 1870s A.&G. Taylor Bearded Man In Suit Liverpool
CDV Circa 1870s Done Young Lady In Suit With Bun London England
CDV Circa 1870s W. Runnicles Young Handsome Man In Suit Windsor UK
CDV Circa 1870s Browning Handsome Man In Suit Reading England
CDV Circa 1870s W. Runicles Lady In Dress Windsor UK
CDV Circa 1870s P. Hudson Lady In Dress Hull UK
CDV Circa 1870s Julius Schneider Family with Children Wien
CDV Circa 1870s Carl Kroh Handsome Man with Mustache Vienna Austria
CDV Circa 1870s W.H. Wheeler Handsome Man In Suit Oxford England
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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