Figure 1.--The CDV was the first albumen process to appear, becoming important in the early 1860s. This unidentified CDV was taken in the 1860s. Note the card was blank with no margin lines or studio information. Also notice the square corners. The CDV revolutionized the industr in the 1860s. Not only was it inexpensive, but it was great for albums and scrapbooks. The cabinent card appeared a few years later in 1866. The cabinet card quickly became the dominant format in America. The CDV continued tobe very populr in Europe into the early-20th century.

The most common type of portraits during the 19th century (1860-1900) were albumen prints. Albumen photographic paper captured the image on the surface instead of embedding it the paper fibers. This was a major advance maling it possible to print very sharp images on paper with a smooth, glossy surface. Albumen prints were usually a brownish tone. Nearly all albumen prints are on very thin paper and mounted to period cardboard as CDV or cabinebt cards. The term albumen is used because because egg whites were used to help achieve the gloss. The paper is sensitized with a silver nitrate solution. The sentitized paper is then exposed to a negative through a 'printed-out' process. The image is produced by the light exposure without any chemical bath to develop and desenthesize the nitrate salts. This made it highly suspectible to fadeing. Old photograph collectors are very familiar with badly faded albumen CDVs and cabinent cards. Even so, most photographic prints used this process (1860s-1890s). Emulsion speeds improved, but were still relatively slow. We see stands which had to be used to steady the subject, especially during the 1860s and 70s.

Major Types

Cartes-de-visite (CDV)

An albumen print, usually with dimensions wre 2 1/2 by 4 inches, but there were ome variations. They were mounted on a cardboard mount. The front of the card had the photograph mounted. The back of the card had the name and usually the address of the phographer, normally in an elaborate design. As the name suggests, the origins are French. One source indicates that the carte-de-viste or CDV was first introdued in 1851. I have been unable to confirm that. Another source indicates that a French photographer, Andr�-Adolphe-Eug�ne Disd�ri, introduce the CDV about 1854. Within a few years the CDV appeared in England. I am precicely sure when. One English collector reports tht the earliet English CDV he has dates to 1859. We do not believe that large numbers of CDVs appeared until about 1860. This appears to be about the same time that CDVs began to appear in America. We tend to note substantial numbers of CDVs appeaing in America about 1861. The CDV was dominant from about 1860-66, but with the introduction of the cabinent car in 1866 began to decline. Many preferred the large images on the cabinent card. They were also common in the 1870s, but by that time cabinent carfds had begun to replace them. CDVs did not entirely disappear until the 1910s. The CDV was a very important advance in commercial photography. Disd�ri's rotating camera back allowed the photographer to make eight individually exposed images on a single negative. The images were printed on albumen paper, then cut apart and glued onto mounts about the size of calling cards. The new camera and procedure permitted multiple images to be taken very quickly. Even more important, the CDV was produced from negatives so that unlike daguerotypes, multiple prints were possible. Negatives could be used to produce any number of prints desired. The studios usually kept the negatives on file so customers could order more photos for friends and family when ever they wanted. Some of these studio archives have been preserved and are wonderful historical records. These multiple printings also meant that photographers could sell images of celeberties to the public and collecting these images became a popular hobby. The CDVs were reasonably priced and families could collect large numbers of images over time. Soon enterprising shops were offering albums specifically designed to hold small CDV cards. Different families had various approaches. The albums wre usually kept by the mother. Some were just the immediate fmily. Others included the extended family. Still others might add celeberity CDVs such as President Lincoln, Queen Victoria, or th Emperor Napolon. Other families might be more likely to add theater actresses or opera singers. A good example of CDVs during the 1860s and 70s is an album kept by an English family in Cambridge--the Stanley.

Cabinet Card

The cabinent card was the most important photographic portrait format of the 19th century. More cabinenbt card were made than any other type of print. The cabinent card was introduced in 1866 and soon surpassed the smaller CDV format in popularity. Some clients, however, contunued to prefer the CDV prints. We are not entirely sure as to why 19th century clients chose one fom or the other. A cabinent card is a simple term to describe a print, usually with dimensions no more than 6," that is mounted upon period cardboard. There were various kinds of mounts. At first raw paste board was used. Later cards appeared with a gloss finish. As with CDVs, the card board was used to protect prints which were normally made on very unsubstantial paper. The characteristics of the photographic paper changed as improvements were made in the photographic process. The printed cardboard mounts that the impage were pasted on were printed with information about the photographer and studio. The colors, script style, and art work used to decorate the mounts varied over time and can also used to help date these cards. There were also change in borders and other aspects of he mounts. Early cards were normally sepia in color, but the colors varied over time and can be useful in dating the cards. Later cards with soft, silverish tones as well as rich blacks. Subsequent cards were Although used for a variety of subjects, this was the most common way to display portraits in the 19th century. the cabinent type was a popular format for 19th-century photographs. It is a photograph mounted on heavy card stock and measures approximately 6-1/2 x 4-1/4 inches. Cabinet cards were usually studio portraits. Cabinet cards of celebrities were a favorite subject. Celeberity cards were widely collected in the last quarter of the 19th century. The cabinet card lost much of its popularity after 1900 with the introduction of the Brownie and rise of amateur phoytography. The cabinent card largely disappeared by the end of World War I.

Country Trends

Albumen prunts were the primary ohotograohic process zariound the world. The process was develooped in France and the CDV was thefirst imoortabnt albumen print type. Within only a few years, the lasrger cabinet card began to replace the CDV in America. It took longer in several European countries where the CDV oersisted longer than America. The photographic record of the second half of the 19th centurty was pfrimzrily albumen prints. The American photographic record is by far the largest. But we have found substzantial phogtogerapic records in England, France, Germany, Italy and Russia as well as Japan. The albumn process dominzated other countries as well, but we have found only limited numbers of orints to srchive from other countries.

Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Sailor suits] [Sailor hats] [Buster Brown suits]
[Eton suits] [Rompers] [Tunics] [Smocks] [Pinafores]

Created: 5:15 AM 9/5/2010
Last updated: 5:15 AM 9/5/2010