Figure 1.--Here we see a 8x10 inch large format cabinet card. It shows an extended Iowa faamily. The card was not dated, but almost certainly was taken about 1895. Notice the studio informtion at the bottom as was common for 19th century cabinet cards. Botice the light-brown color and wide margins. The photographer was Young in Humeston, Iowa.

Here we are primarily talking about the 19th century. We see sizes like 8x10 11x9 inch. The 8x10 seems to be the most common size. What we are not real sure about yet is the studio information that was usually provided at the bottom of a cabinet cards. We don't see logos as commonly which were fairly standard in 19th century cards, but we do see some of these large cards with the studio and city information. Here we do not have enough examples to form any overall assessment. We see some of these large cards with out mat borders, but they largely had substantial borders. The most notable aspect of these large cards is that they were not done with mounts in the same color and style as the standard (4¼ x 7¼ inch) cabinet card mounts. We are not sure how common this was. We also do not see the many colors that were used for 19th century cabinet cards. The yellowish manila color we see here was common, although we still have relative few examples (figure 1). And of course this is faded with age. We are not enitirely sure what the original color was. Many of these large cards had no studio information and logios. Some do have printed information , but they are not styled like the standard styles. Siome have just the city and states. Others have the studio information as well. We see large format cabinet cards after the turn of the 20th century, but no as many. Yhey were part of major changes as part of new style mounts. And many of these cards also have no studio information. We we continue to see a few standard size as was the case in the 19th century. We also see new colors. The smaller number was part of the devline in cabinet cards after the turn of the 20th century. The appearance of snapshots was probably a facor here.

The 19th Century

Here we are primarily talking about the 19th century. We see sizes like 8x10 11x9 inch. The 8x10 seems to be the most common size. What we are not real sure about yet is the studio information that was usually provided at the bottom of a cabinet cards. We don't see logos as commonly which were fairly standard in 19th century cards, but we do see some of these large cards with the studio and city information. Here we do not have enough examples to form any overall assessment. We see some of these large cards with out mat borders, but they largely had substantial borders. The most notable aspect of these large cards is that they were not done with mounts in the same color and style as the standard (4¼ x 7¼ inch) cabinet card mounts. We are not sure how common this was. We also do not see the many colors that were used for 19th century cabinet cards. The yellowish manila color we see here was common, although we still have relative few examples (figure 1). And of course this is faded with age. We are not enitirely sure what the original color was. We do not see muc framing. Many of these large cards had no studio information and logios. Some do have printed information , but they are not styled like the standard styles. Siome have just the city and states. Others have the studio information as well. We see embossed framing by the 1890s.

The 20th Century

We see large format cabinet cards after the turn of the 20th century, but no as many. Yhey were part of major changes as part of new style mounts. And many of these cards also have no studio information. We we continue to see a few standard size as was the case in the 19th century. We also see new colors. The smaller number was part of the decline in cabinet cards after the turn of the 20th century. The appearance of snapshots was probably a facor here.

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Created: 6:16 PM 5/19/2022
Last updated: 7:12 AM 5/8/2024