Carte de Visite
Albumen-print portraits on small card mounts — the calling-card photo of the Civil War era.
Antique CDV 1870s H.W. Tibbals Young Woman Girl Vignette Painesville Ohio
Antique CDV 1870s Byerly & Hemperly Young Woman Bow Tie Sunbury PA
Antique CDV 1860s Everitt Woman Bonnet Lace Collar Chicago Illinois
Antique CDV 1880s Nichols Woman Curly Hair Ruffled Lace Bow Rutland
Antique CDV 1870s Portrait Woman Plaid Tartan Dress Spectacles Glasses
Antique CDV 1880s Baby Toddler White Lace Dress High Button Shoes Portrait
Antique CDV Morton Baby Toddler Sitting in Chair White Lace Dress Providence
Antique CDV Schofield Bros Young Man Suit Tie Westerly RI Portrait Photograph
Antique CDV Scholfield Bros Woman Dark Button Dress Curly Hair Westerly
Antique CDV G.W. Squiers Young Man Standing Frock Coat Chair Rochester NY
Antique CDV 1870 Whitehurst Gallery Young Woman Striped Dress Washington
Antique CDV Decker Woman Long Ringlet Curls Hair Cleveland Ohio Portrait
Antique CDV W. E. Lindop Baby Girl Plaid Dress Elgin Gallery St. Thomas Ontario
Antique CDV 1880s Augustus Hatch Young Woman High Bun Brooch Bath Maine
Antique CDV 1870s Bearded Man Chin Curtain Beard Bow Tie Suit Portrait
Antique CDV 1880s Schofield Bros Young Woman Short Curly Hair Westerly
Antique CDV B. Frank Saylor Young Man Bow Tie Suit Lancaster PA No. 20629
Antique CDV 1880s Baby Toddler Infant Vignette Portrait Pink Border Card
Antique CDV J Taylor Man Standing Suit Pocket Watch Chain New York NY
Antique CDV 1880s L. R. Bliss Toddler Child Plaid Dress Coudersport PA
Antique CDV Unmarked
Antique CDV 1880s Young Woman Portrait High Collar Dress Brooch Pin
Antique CDV 1860s Fredricks Handsome Man Dapper Suit Bowtie New York NY
Antique CDV 1860s J. M. Le Clear Older Woman Lace Cap Brooch Batavia NY
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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