Figure 1.-- This CDV portait of an Iowa family is undated, but the revenue stamp on the back dates to 1864-66. We know the children's first name, but not their family name. Notice the pointed corners and twin line ruling. The studio was W.F. Kilborn in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Note there is no studio inormation on the front.

Several charcteristics of a CDV can be dated, including the size, corners and thickness. Thev CDV has a very specific size, both in America and other countries. It was 2 3/8" x 4 1/4". Therevare few exceptions, nostly early CDVs when photographer may have cut his own card stock. But generally CDVs were very close in size, emulating calling cards. And with the appearance of slotted CDV albums, the cards had to be a standard sized to fit into the slots. The corners of CDV cards are helpful in dating CDVs. The first CDVs had pounted corners. We have not yet, however, worked up a precise chronology. This is somewhat complicated by the fact that wear can cause pinted corner CDVs to appear as if they have rounded corners. Rounded corners appear to have become standard from a very early point. The first CDVs seem to have had sharp pointed corners. We have found cards with rounded corners as early as 1864. This does not mean that rounded coners immeiately replaced the pointed corners. We still see sharp coerners very commonly in the 1860s, but by the early 70s, virually all Ameican CDVs had rounded corners. This varied from country to country. We see both pointed and rounded corners in England, for example, during the 1870s. Most American pointed corner CDVs date to the 1860s. We are gradyallu building a detailed chronology.so we can more precisly date the the corner range. Anothr feature of the CDV cards that can be dated is the hickness of the card stock. But this is less useful for HBC as we are commonly working with CDV images rather than the actual physical CDV.

Created: 11:02 PM 1/18/2014
Last updated: 11:02 PM 1/18/2014