Carte de Visite
Albumen-print portraits on small card mounts — the calling-card photo of the Civil War era.
Antique CDV Photo Company Woman Profile Portrait Frame Sheffield UK
Antique CDV T Laing Elderly Man Glasses Bow Tie Portrait Glasgow Scotland
Antique CDV W Hardman Victorian Couple Standing Woman Seated Man York England
Antique CDV Hudson & CO Bearded Man Seated Portrait Birmingham Walsall
Antique CDV 1880s E Birchley Woman Book Ruffled Dress Birmingham UK
Antique CDV 1870 Matt Cuthbert Bearded Man Standing Suit York England
Antique CDV 1870 Groom Bearded Man Seated Suit Watch Chain Plymouth UK
Antique CDV A. E. Scales Ralph Allison Man Mustache Suit Hartlepool UK
Antique CDV 1888 Elliott & Fry Bearded Man Double Breasted Coat London UK
Antique CDV 1870s W Short Brother Sister Children Old Swindon Wiltshire
Antique CDV John Hawke Dapper Man Holding Scroll Plymouth Devon UK
Antique CDV George Shaw Young Woman White Lace Dress Edinburgh Scotland
Antique CDV 1870s Laurie & Mitchell Bearded Man Suit Edinburgh Scotland
Antique CDV J. H. Bayley Woman Velvet Jacket Hat Ripon Yorkshire UK
Antique CDV 1880 Le Chevalier LA Fosse Baby Dorothy Manchester UK
Antique CDV T. G. & J. Chaplin Woman Curly Hair High Collar Stratford-On-Avon
Antique CDV 1870s Abbott Booty Woman in Hat With Muff Oxford UK
Antique CDV Unmarked
Antique CDV Alexander Bassano Woman Braided Hair Star Necklace London UK
Antique CDV 1890s Dapper Young Man Bowler Hat Mustache Suit Pocket Square
Antique CDV 1880 H Davey Woman Velvet Dress Desk Exeter Devon UK
Antique CDV 1870s Young Boy in Knickerbocker Suit Leaning On Chair Prop
Antique CDV G Caldwell Elegant Woman Lace Bodice Puff Sleeves Nottingham
Antique CDV G C Melville Young Woman Velvet Button Jacket Manchester UK Photo
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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