Figure 1.--These French brothers were from Paris and photgraphed in sailor outfits. The studio won a prize in 1878. We believe that CDV abd cabinent card portrits were usually taken within a few years of these prize awards. And in this case the portrait was taken in 1882. Put your cursor on the image to see the back of the CDV with the dates.

There were a variety of national and international competitions in which studios could comprete. We have no information at this time on the nature of these competitions. We only know that many studios advertized the prizes they won on the back of the mounts. They were useful establishing the reputation and pretige of the studio. These awards were much more common in Europe than in America. These prizes are of interest primarily because they are dated. This helps to date the portraits. Obviously the portrait could not be taken before the date of the latest award. The question becomes when usung these prize awards to help date the images is, how long after the award. We tend to think that the portraits would probably be within about 5 years of the latest award. This is because custimers might begin to ask why they were no longer winning awards. Of course there is not absolute rule here, but as a general rule we think that that most portraits would have been taken within a few years of the latest prize award.

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Created: 5:08 AM 5/26/2008
Last updated: 5:08 AM 5/26/2008