Figure 1.--The English boy had his portrait taken by the noted photorapher W.J. Byrne, probably in the 1880s. He put his name on the front. This was a very common mount design in England during the 1870s and 80s, just the photographic studio at the left and the city at the right. The orint was done in different colors. Many other photographers only had their name on the back of CDVs. Image courtesy of the MD collection.

Carte de Visite (CDVs) like cabinent cards were mounted on a cardboard mount. The front of the card had the photograph paisted on the mounted. The actual print was on much less substantuial photogaphic paper than is the case with modern print. Thus the mount was necessary to protect it. Many CDVs, unlike cabinent cards, had no printing on the front and were completely devoted to the image. The back of the card had the name and usually the address of the phographer, normally in an elaborate design. CDVs seem, however, much more varied than cabinent cards. We note some photographers who put there name on the front, but much more plainly than was common with cabinent cards. This may have varied chronologically. We have also noted some CDVs in the 1880s with fronts much like cabinnt cards. We also notice some CDVs with elaborately styled fronts. These are almos all 20th century CDVs. Some German CDVs printed in the early 20th century before World War I, for example, had Art-deco styling. Some collectors consider these to be really attractive little objects.

Figure 2.--This undated English portrait was probably taken in the 1860s. It was printed on heavy stock rather than pasted on a card. The child wears a colored dress and long pantalettes. We are not sure if the child is a boy or girl. The photographer on the back is identified as H. Howle, High St., Newport, Salop.

Chronology

The various characteristics of CDVs, especially the mounts, can be important clues in helping to date he many cards without any privinance. The first cards were quite simple. Prints were initially pasted on thin white or ivory stock which had with square corners. Gradually thicker stock became standard as did rounded corners. Colors were intrloduced There were a variety of colors such as light green and pink as well as white and cream. [McCulloch]

Unmounted

Most CDVs we have noted are images mounted on pre-printed cardboard stock mounts. We have note, however, some prints from the 1860s-70s that were CDV size, but printed on heavy stock paper rather than being mounted. These had print on the back identifying the studio. We are unsure at this time just how common these were relative to the mounted CDVs. As they are mostly CDV-size prints, we consider them along with the CDVs on this page.

Purpose

CDVs like cabinent cards were mounted on a cardboard mount. The front of the card had the photograph paisted on the mounted. The actual print was on much less substantuial photogaphic paper than is the case with modern print. Thus the mount was necessary to protect it. It was also a useful place to adverize your studio. Some remind clients that they can order reprints.

Front Types

CDVs were done in a variety of different styles. CDVs seem, however, much more varied than cabinent cards. We notice cards without any printing. Other cards had very basic fronts while others could be quite fancy. There were a variety of borders. Some fronts had artistic designs.

Figure 3--This undated Scottish portrait has a front rather like a cabinent card, only scaled down. Interestingly, the photographer called it a "cabinent". One the back it reads, "Copies of the cabinent can be had at any time." The photographer was McLucas and Co located on Vaughn St in Llanelly.

No printing

Many CDVs, unlike cabinent cards, had no printing on the front and were completely devoted to the image. This appears to have been very common in America. I'm less sure about Europe.

Front printing

We note some photographers who put there name on the front, but much more plainly than was common with cabinent cards. The English boy had his portrait taken by the noted photorapher W.J. Byrne, probably in the 1880s (figure 1). Byrne put his name on the front. This was a very common mount design in England during the 1870s and 80s, just the photographic studio at the left and the city at the right. The orint was done in different colors. This may have varied chronologically. We have also noted some CDVs in the 1880s with much fancier fronts, done much like cabinent cards (figure 3).

Borders

Some fronts had a variety of ruled borders. Here the ruling varied as to wudth and number.

Figure 4.--The German CDV was taken in 1912 and had an artistic art-deco mount. Image courtesy of the MD collection.

Elaborate fronts

We also notice some CDVs with elaborately styled fronts. These are almos all 20th century CDVs. Some German CDVs printed in the early 20th century before World War I, for example, had Art-deco styling. Some collectors consider these to be really attractive little objects.

Card Back

The back of the card had the name and usually the address of the phographer, normally in an elaborate design. This also varied. Some cards had very simple backs. Many studios, virtually all substantial studios in major cities, had mounts especially printed with their names and logos on the backs. Not all studios have printed backs. Many of the early cards have blank backs. Small start up studiuos and itinerant photographers also commonly have blank backs.

Dates

Some of the CDVs have dates on the back. Here we are not talking about dates and names parents have written on the back, but rather printed dates with the nanes of the studios and other commercial messages. Sometimes there is a date without explanation. This seems to be a kibf of dating system with the studio ordering new cards. With these cards we believe that these dates are relatively good indicators as to the date the portrait was taken. Other cards have awards the studios have worn with the dates for these awards. The portrait would presumably have been taken at least a year after the latest award. We think that generally the portraits would have been taken within a few years of the latest award. Some cards have copy rights. Again we think the portraits would have been probably been taken at least ayear after the copyright, but within a few years of it. We think this is in part because astudio would not have wanted old dates in their cards as this would have suggested tht the studio was backward or not keeping up with the times, but here we are only speculating at this time. Perhaps reader will know more about this.

Dating Card Mounts

We intend to develop some guidelines for dating CDVs. Here we are somewhat limited because many of the CDVs we have archived are undated. We intend to begin assessing those CDVs that are dated. One guideline is that many of the early CDVs did not have printed lettering identifying the studio. Our general assessment is that the CDVs without printing are probably from the 1860s or 70s. An example here is an undated CDV of an American boy, Dan Brown. We would guess it was taken in the 1870s. We note many different colors of mounts, lettering, and border styles. We also note square and rounded corners. We do not yet know the chronological range for these different factos, but will begin to archive the full cards in this section in an effort to devlop some chronological indicators. This is quite a complicated undertaking, in part because the trends may have varied from country to country. While we have found many different CDV mounts, the problem is tht most are not dated and we can only use dated mounts to build a reliable list of chronological indicators.

Sources

McCulloch, Lou W. In Card Photographs: A Guide to Their History and Value (Schiffer).

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Created: May 3, 2003
Last updated: 6:56 AM 12/28/2006