Figure 1.--This French cabinet card of two French sibilings nd their little pooch was taken in 1911. The studio was Guillerme in Niort, a small town in western France. We would classify this as anew style cabinet card in America, but are not sure if this is an appropriate distintion for Frnce. We have archived very few 19th century Frnch 19th century cabinet cards. Thus we are nor sure about styles and formats for 19th century cabinet cards.

We note large numbers of CDVs that look similar to American and other European CDVs. We are not yet sure about cabinet cards as we have so few examples. The larger cabinet card appeared in America (1866). We do not know when they first appeared in France. And akso are not sure why they were very slow to become popular. Unlike America, they were not an immediate success. The CDV seems to have been much more popular in France than the cabinet card until the 1890s. We are as a result, not yet able to develop trends in French cabinet cards. We do not know why cabinet cards proved less popular in France and other European countries than in America. While we do not have a lot of 19th century cabinet cards, we see the same basic classic styles mount we see in America and other countries. We do note nunerous cabinet cards in the early-20th century as well as a few CDVs. And we see the same kind of new style mounts in the early-20th century. The examoples we have found are the larger sized mounts. The 1911 Niort cabinet card we see here is a good example (figure 1). We continue to see French cabinet cards into the inter-War era, although they were decining in popularity. We see cabinet cards being done as late as 1940. They disappeared earlier in other countries. We do not see them in France after World War II.

Classic Mounts (1860s-90s)

We note large numbers of CDVs that look similar to American and other European CDVs. We are not yet sure about cabinet cards as we have so few examples. The larger cabinet card appeared in America (1866). We do not know when they first appeared in France. And akso are not sure why they were very slow to become popular. Unlike America, they were not an immediate success. The CDV seems to have been much more popular in France than the cabinet card until the 1890s. We are as a result, not yet able to develop trends in French cabinet cards. We do not know why cabinet cards proved less popular in France and other European countries than in America. While we do not have a lot of 19th century cabinet cards, we see the same basic classic styles mount we see in America and other countries.

New Style Mounts (1900s-40s)

We do note nunerous cabinet cards in the early-20th century as well as a few CDVs. The new style mounts did not suddenly appear in 1900 and the classic style did not disappear in 1899. But the turn of the century is the point at which the classic mounts had begun to decline and the new style mounts began to become the dominant cabinet card mount. And we see similar new style mount styles in the early-20th century that we see in America and other countries. The examples we have found so far are the larger sized mounts. The mounts were larger, but not always the actual photographic images. The 1911 Niort cabinet card we see here is a good example (figure 1). We have not yet found the smaller-sized cabinet cards we see in America at the time, but the number of French cabinet cards we have found are very small and we do not yet have a valid sample. This is especially the case of the dated cards we like to include in this section. Unlike the classic 19th century cabinet cards, the styling and color of the mounts were different than many of the American mounts we have archived. We continue to see French cabinet cards into the inter-War era, although they were decining in popularity. We see cabinet cards being done as late as 1940. They disappeared earlier in other countries. We do not see them in France after World War II.

Created: 2:29 AM 9/13/2016
Last updated: 3:17 AM 10/26/2018