Figure 1.--This early Romanian CDVs was dated to the 1880s by the dealer. We suspect the 1870s is more likely, even the late-60s. The sharp corners help to date it. We are not sure what the partilly flaked out mounting at the top was all about. It looks to be a boy from a well-to-do family dressing up in a folk outfit. Such styles were still very common in the coutry side. The studio was K.F. Zipser in Bucharest. We think that is a German name. A lot of the early Romanian photographers were Germans. Notice the city the studio is located in is not on the front of the card. We do not yet know how common that was in Romania. A readerwrites, "The Zipser Germans who settled several areas in what is now Romania, Slovakia and Hungary were also called Carpathian Germans. They worked not ony as farmers but also as craftsmen and miners. In spite of forced Magyarizations they kept speaking a German dialect (spoken since the 13th century). After World War II most of them were deported to Austria and Germany by the Romnians or sent to Siberia by the Soviets.

We have not found Romanian example of the earliest photographic formats like Daguerreotypes and Ambrotypes (1840s-50s). There may have been some, but they were certainly not very common. Commercial photography was developed by researchers in a small number of countries (primarily Britain and France) and then spread to other countries like Romania. The albumen process became important in Europe (1860s). The first albumen product was the CDV. And by the time Dags and Ambros reached Romania, CDVs appeared and quickly prevailed because of their many advantages and lower costs. As in other countries we notice Romanian CDVs and cabinet cards in the 19th century. As was common in Europe, CDVs continued to be popular in Romania longer than was the case in America. So far the earliest CDV we have found dates to the 1870s. The mounts are similar to those we see in Western Europe. The CDV here is a good example (figure 1). We suspect that they are earlier ones, but our 19th century Romanian archive here is very limited. The cabinet card on the previous page is a good example of a cabinet card. This one looks to date to the turn-of-the 20th century. The mount styles look similar to those we see in America and Western Europe. we suspect that the dating conventions are also the similar, but we do not have a large enough archive to substantiate this. Also at the turn of the 20th century snap shots appeared. This beganjin a major way with the Kodak Brownie (1900). Just when the first Brownie are similar systems reached Romania we do not know, but would have been some time in the 1900s. The relatively low income level of Romanians means that the photographic record is much smaller than in America or Western Europe.

Early Photographic Types

We have not found Romanian example of the earliest photographic formats like Daguerreotypes and Ambrotypes (1840s-50s). There may have been some, but they were certainly not very common. Commercial photography was developed by researchers in a small number of countries (primarily Britain and France) and then spread to other countries like Romania.

Albumen Types

The albumen process became important in Europe (1860s). The first albumen product was the CDV. And by the time Dags and Ambros reached Romania, CDVs appeared and quickly prevailed because of their many advantages and lower costs. As in other countries we notice Romanian CDVs and cabinet cards in the 19th century. As was common in Europe, CDVs continued to be popular in Romania longer than was the case in America. So far the earliest CDV we have found dates to the 1870s. The mounts are similar to those we see in Western Europe. The CDV here is a good example (figure 1). We suspect that they are earlier ones, but our 19th century Romanian archive here is very limited. The cabinet card soon followed. The cabinet card on the previous page is a good example of a cabinet card. This one looks to date to the turn-of-the 20th century. The mount styles look similar to those we see in America and Western Europe. we suspect that the dating conventions are also the similar, but we do not have a large enough archive to substantiate this.

Snapshots

Also at the turn of the 20th century snapshots appeared. This began in a major way with the American Kodak Brownie (1900). Just when the first Brownie are similar systems reached Romania we do not know, but would have been some time in the 1900s. The relatively low income level of Romanians means that the photographic record is much smaller than in America or Western Europe. We only begin to see substantial numbers after world War I in the 1920s. Most of the snapshots we have acquired are undated. We will load dated sanpshots here in an effort to undertand the chronology of snapshot charactristics like size, dimensions/shape, borders, edgeing, and other chracteristics. The dates of many photographs can be estimated based on details displayed, bu for the most part only estimated. Knowing the chronologica range of the various characteristics will help estimate dates.

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Created: 11:29 AM 12/10/2015
Last updated: 6:36 PM 10/6/2024