Carte de Visite
Albumen-print portraits on small card mounts — the calling-card photo of the Civil War era.
CDV Circa 1860s Bearded Man & Man with Mustache Unmarked
CDV Circa 1880s B. Duckmanton Cute Baby In Dress Gainsborough
CDV Circa 1880s Argent A. Archer Lady In Dress London UK
CDV Circa 1880s Handsome Bearded Man In Suit Unmarked
CDV Circa 1880s W. Forshaw Gorgeous Lady In Dress Oxford Unmarked
CDV Circa 1880s W. Forshaw Cute Baby In Dress Oxford UK
CDV Circa 1880s Paul Stabler Young Boy In Suit Sunderland UK
CDV Circa 1880s Bolko Schmiechen Gorgeous Lady In Dress Sunderland
CDV Circa 1880s W. Britton Cute Child in Dress Barnstaple England
CDV Circa 1880s Hellis & Sons Young Boy In Suit London England
CDV Circa 1880s Miller Young Man With Mustache In Suit Yarmouth UK
CDV Circa 1880s Arthur Lewis Baby Cute In Dress Reading UK
CDV Circa 1880s A.J. Elder Young Handsome Man In Suit Plaistow Essex
CDV Circa 1880s Goldie Cute Baby In Dress Swansea
CDV Circa 1880s W.H. Prestwich Cute Child in Outfit London
CDV Circa 1880s Samuel Fry Bearded Man in Suit Kingston UK
CDV Circa 1880s Family Old Woman & Children In Fancy Dress Unmarked
CDV Circa 1880s Fred Ash Young Boy In Suit Blackpool
CDV Circa 1880s J.A. Mann Gorgeous Lady In Dress Norwich UK
CDV Circa 1880s Alf. Calvert Handsome Man with Mustache London
CDV Circa 1880s John Hart Teenage Boy In Suit London
CDV Circa 1880s Bainton Cute Girl in Dress Southampton UK
CDV Circa 1880s Harry Cecil Turner Lady In Dress Pentonville Road
CDV Circa 1880s H. Lagriffe Fille Cute Girl In Dress Paris France
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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