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Cabinet cards also used the albumen process. Albumen CDVs appeared in France during the late-1850s, but did not appear in large numbers until the end iof the decade. We begin to see them in America during the early-60s. They were the principal photographic portrait during the 60s continued to be made throughout the rest of the 19th century, at least in Europe. The pattern in America is different. The first cabinet card appeared in America (1866) and rapidly began to replace the CDV. As cabinet cards also used the albumen process, it was very easy for studios to also offer cabint cards, it was just a matter of a different size. While we still see quite a number of CDVs in the early-70s, the great bulk of the portaits taken in America during the 1870s-1890s were cabinet cards. CDVs continued to be very common in Europe, but much less so in America. And the formats and mount styles during this period were very similar. Like CDVs the sizes were standard, in part because albums were made to store and display them. And they were taken in very large numbers, much larger than in Europe. Unlike Europe, we almost never see the term cabinet card or cabinet portrait used on these American cards. The American cabinet cars are generally easy to identify because along with the name of the studio, the city and state is almost always indicated with a few exceptions. Dating the images is more complicated. The family sometines wrote the date and names on the back, but in most cases the portraits are not dated. The style of clothing, portrait setting, and mount styles can all help date the images. For reasons we do not fully understand, about the turn-of-the 20th century we see radical changes in the mounts and formats used for these cards. We see mny new sizes and mount styles. Cabinet cards continued to be popular in the 9800s, but we begin to see other formats, postcard back prints and studio portraits offered in paper frames. As result by the 1910s we see far fewer cabinet cards.
Cabinet cards also used the akbumen process. This was the exact same process first used for CDVs. The identical process was used for cabinet cards. The only difference was that the cabinet card used a larger mount and print. Thus thev prints were made from a negative which allowed the purchase of as many prints of the portrait that the client wanted. After the turn-of-the 20th century we see a few cabint cards wiuth silver nitrate prints, but by this time the cabinet card format was declining in popularity.
Albumen CDVs appeared in France during the late-1850s, but did not appear in large numbers until the end of the decade. We begin to see them in America during the early-1860s. They were the principal photographic portrait format during the 60s continued to be made throughout the rest of the 19th century, at least in Europe. The pattern in America is somewhat different. The first cabinet card appeared in America (1866) and rapidly began to replace the CDV. The only difference was that the cabinet card mount and attached pgotigraph was larger. As cabinet cards also used the albumen process, it was very easy for studios to also offer cabinet cards. It was just a matter of a different mount and photograph size. In just a few years the cabinet card became the dominant photographic format in America. American consumers liked the larger size. The additional cost was minimal. While we still see quite a number of CDVs in the early-70s, the great bulk of the portaits taken in America during the 1870s-1890s were cabinet cards. CDVs continued to be very common in Europe, but much less so in America. Mount styles and studio settings varied by decade. Clothing styles can also help date the cards. The mounts through the 1890s were a classic style. Colored mounts were popular in the 1880s. The 1890s cards were often whiting colors like ivory or cream. We alo see embossed studio information. We continue to see cabinet cards after the turn-of-the-20th century, but the classic style mounts disappear and we see more varuiety in both mounts and settings. The photo-bacck format appears in the 1900s, both for studios and the new snap shots. We see faewer cabinet cards in the 1900s, although it was still a popular format. And by the 1910s we begin to see far fewer cabinrt cards. The cabinrt card was no longer an important format by the 1920s.
The studio sets include furniture and props as well as the backdrops. We will dal with each of thes individually as well as provide a decade by decade chronology of these trends in these studio sets. Here we will do this in general beginning in the 1840s with Daguerreotypes rather than just for cabinet cards, although some studio set trends were influenced by the photographic format. Sets in the 1840s and 50s, first for dags and then for Ambros were very similar, a subject sitting by a table with a patterned cloth fabric covering it. The background was often plain. Not all Dags and Ambros were done like, this but it was very common. Sets for CDVs when they appeared (1860s) looked rather lkike the Dags and Ambros. Ww see CDVs becoming rather like strages, often for some reason with a large drapery at one side. The cabunert cards apoeres (mid-1860s). We begin to see much more elaborate sets, especially for cabinet cards (1870s). Classical imagery ws popular (1870s). Rustic settings seem popular (1880)s. We ee grass, shrubery, and fences -- split rails were popular (1880s). The portrait here is an example with a huge bolder meant to coney a outdoor country setting (figure 1). At the end of the century we see settings with a kind of poetic setting, sometimes with a misty or out of focus backdrop (1890s). We also see house plants at this time. A good example is a portrait of an unidentified New York boy in 1896. We see a lot of whicker furniture in the 1890 and 1900s. Much of the whicker furniture was natural color in the 1890s and white in the 1900s.
The dry plate nagative process, also known as th gelatin process, was an improved type of photographic plate. The inventor was Dr. Richard L. Maddox (1871). Slowly the process was improved and began to be adopoted at photographic studios by the end of the decade.
The original gelatin emulsions as invisioned by Maddox, were very sensitive to touch and mechanical friction. and it was not much more sensitive to light than collodion emulsions in use at the time. Charles Harper Bennett discovered a method of hardening the emulsion, making it of more pactical use as it was more resistant to friction (1873). Bennett than discovered that by prolonged heating, the light sensitivity of the emulsion could be greatly increased. This was important necause until then, a photographis session entailed a prolonged exposure in nwhiuch the subkect had to sit or stanf very still. Many images were vrined because if fitchity chilkdren. It was George Eastman who developoed developed a machine to coat glass plates (1879). He opened the e Eastman Film and Dry Plate Company (1884). This reduced the cost of photography because so much less labor and chemistry was needed in the studios. Eastman had a competitoir, architectural photographer Albert Levy. It was at this tinme that studios began to adverise 'instantaneous photography' -- meanung that an actual portarit could be shot in 1/60th of a second. By the mid-1890s, the dry-plate process was so widely adopted by the mid-90s that we no longer see 'instantaneous photography being advertised.
The vast majority of cabinet cards and virtually all CDVs were taken in studios, althoug some photraphers apparently want to schools to take the photographs. We thus see mostly children were dressed up for the portrait. We see mostly in the 1890s cabinet cards that were clearly not taken jn the studios. We do not have much information okn thiese photographs. We believe that many british studios had employees that wbt door to door to take photographs. That does not seem to have been the case in America, althoiugh we have little definative information. Our general impression is that many of these photographs were taken by amateur photographers and processed in studios, the best ones printed on cabinet cards. The numbers of such photographs are limited because before the Kodak Brownine (1900), amateur snapshot photography was complicated and expensive.
The formats and mount styles used for cabinet cards were very similar during 19th century (1866-1900). We refer to these as the classic cabinet card format. We see very few cabinet cards that were not the standard 4 in by 6 in inches. This was the sanme standard size common in Europe. Like CDVs the sizes were standard, in part because albums were made to store and display them. While the size was veruy standard, the mount stles varied somewhat. And they were taken in very large numbers, much larger than in Europe. Unlike Europe, we almost never see the term cabinet card or cabinet portrait used on these American cards. The American cabinet cars are generally easy to identify because along with the name of the studio, the city and state is almost always indicated with a few exceptions. For reasons we do not fully understand, about the turn-of-the 20th century we see radical changes in the mounts and formats used for these cards. Some of these new formats behan to appear in the late-1890s, but they were most pronounced in the 1900s. We see many new sizes and mount styles (1900s-10s). Cabinet cards continued to be popular in the 1900s, but we begin to see other formats, postcard back prints and studio portraits offered in paper frames. As result by the 1910s we see far fewer cabinet cards.
Studio logos from an early point appeared on most American cabinet cards. There were differencess, mostly with the font style. But the vast majority of the American cards were vertically oriented and had the name of the studio on the left, the studio logo in the middle, and the city and state on the right. Thus it is virtuallhy fool proof to spot an Ameniacn cabinet card. One bit of text that was extrodinarily rare was to see the words 'cabinet card/portrait'. For some reason this was very common in Europe. We see countless European portraits with the term 'cabinet portrait' in English -- regardless of the local language, but almost never in America. This even occured in Russia, although there are many cabinet cards all done with Cyrillic script We are at a loss to explain this divergence. Or the sudden use of English ascross Europe. Perhaps European readers will have some idea. The only matter that occurs to us is that the appearance of the cabinet card largely coincideds with the rise of the American industrial economy and vastly increased emigration from most European countries. Many immigrnts would have mailed cabinet card portraits home to friends and loved ones in Europe--in mny cases loved ones who could not afford photographic portraits. We think the cabinent card format was seen as an Anerican phenomnon. In Britain, the other English speaking country, CDVs continud to be very popular. And the United States was increasingly being seen as both modern and successful, at least by the uropean working- and middle-classes as wll as the artistic elkmnt. his ishen French sulptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi sent the Statue of Liberty to America.
Dating the images is a complicated undertaking. It is very important in our historical fashion assessnmnents because so many cabinet cards are undated and we want to use them to ghelp understand fashion trends, including chrionological trends. We begin with the basic time frame of cabinet cards. They were introduced in 1866 and continued to be produced into the 1900s. We also see them into the 1900s, but in smaller numbers. The family sometimes wrote the date and names on the back, but in most cases the portraits are not dated. The style of clothing and mount styles can all help date the images. Here women's fashions are the easiest to date, although we focus primarily on children clothes. The mount styles and colors are also very useful. Another useful indicator are the studio props. Here the props can help date all the different portrait tyoes. Furniture set up in the sitting area as particularly helpful. It is very useful in dating all the different photiographic fornmats, not just cabinet cards. We note Dags and Ambros with fabric-covered tabel (1840s-50s). Many CDVs have tasseled furniture (1870s-80s). Here we are still working on the precise chronology. Then we begin to see whicker furnitute (1890s-1900s). White wicker furniture became very popular (1900s). We notice basic white furniture (1900s). Art deco furniture becomes popular (1920s-30s). The great variety of backdrops can also be helpful indicators.
Cabinet cards were primarily done as personal or family portraits. Most were done in studios, but we gradually begin to see some outdoor caninet cards toward the end of the century. Portraits are what most people think about when the subject of cabinet cards come up. There was, however, another type. There were cabinet cards made just to make visual images into the home. At the time actual visual images were very rare. And for most of the century the only published illustrations were lithographic engravings. The technology for printing actual photographs did not become commercially feasible until the turn-of-the 20th century. The hunger for images resulted in people buying photographs of leaders and other popular figures. This included boith CDVs and cabinet cards. In fact, the CDV first became popular when a portrait of Napoleon III sparked huge interest in Britain. This began a whole new industry. With companies selling imsges of animsls, monumnt, geographic features, ethnic imsges, buildings, cities, and just about sbnything of interest. And we see staged images just for entertainment. And among the wide range of these entertainment were cards featuring children. We see even nore of this in the stereoview cards that became so popular.
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