Carte de Visite
Albumen-print portraits on small card mounts — the calling-card photo of the Civil War era.
Antique CDV 1870s T Pope Woman Portrait Jewelry Earrings Birmingham UK
Antique CDV 1870s W Ash Two Men Dapper Suits Bow Ties Newington London UK
Antique CDV Sydney Victor White Seated Woman Lace Cuffs Bows Reading England
Antique CDV Jas Russell & Sons Young Woman High Collar Chichester Southsea
Antique CDV 1880 Schreiber & Dutton Bearded Man Suit Woolwich London UK
Antique CDV Eyre Late Mr Finlayson Portrait Young Woman Striped Dress London
Antique CDV 1870s Touranchet Woman Curly Hair Vest Paris France Portrait
Antique CDV Unmarked
Antique CDV John White Baby Girl White Dress Fur Rug Ipswich Suffolk UK
Antique CDV A & G Taylor Elderly Woman Brooch Lace Collar London UK
Antique CDV 1870s Fehrenbach Young Woman Ruffled Collar London UK
Antique CDV Thomas Fall Woman Bustle Dress Portrait London UK
Antique CDV 1880 Montabone Vanetti Woman Lace Collar Fringe Chair Firenze
Antique CDV Brown Barnes Bell Elderly Woman Floral Bonnet Liverpool UK
Antique CDV 1870s Montabone Vanetti Bearded Man Bow Tie Portrait Firenze
Antique CDV W Wright Elegant Young Woman High Collar Dress Whitechapel UK
Antique CDV 1870s Oldham & Cooper Two Women Victorian Fashion Birmingham
Antique CDV 1867 Mathieu-Deroche Bearded Man Portrait Paris France
Antique CDV Carlton & Sons Woman Lace Collar Brooch Horncastle England
Antique CDV J.W. Margetts Handsome Young Man Bow Tie Kingsland Road London UK
Antique CDV 1890s Young Girl Puff Sleeve Dress Fern Plant Table Portrait
Antique CDV 1880s Emile Glorian Portrait Man Mustache Denain France
Antique CDV 1880s Henry T Reed Elegant Woman Bow Collar London UK
Antique CDV A & G Taylor Handsome Man Mustache Bow Tie London UK
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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