Figure 1.--Here we see an unidentified school class, we think in the early-1880s. Thus card was slightly larger than the standard size -- 4½ x 7½ inches. But most unusually, the photograph covered the entire mount. This was something we have not seen before. A stamp on the back identifies the photographer as Waterman & Co. in Buffalo. Copies cost $0.25.

The standard 19th century cabinet card had photographs without borders that only covered part of the card -- albeit the largest parts of the card. A few of the large format cards had photographs covereing the entire cards. This is something we do not see on standard 19th century cabinet cards. And as far as we can tell is rare. WEe are not entirely syure why. Peraps the studios like the ability to advertise. Perhaps consumers thought the margins more artistic. Thery did help protect the ctual photiograph vetter. We don't know how common this was. We have found only one sucg card. After the turn of the 20th century we see a much greater diversity of cabinet cards. Some of these were cards with only small photographs. We are not sure yet if cabinet cards were done covering the entire card with these new-style mounts.

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Created: 9:59 PM 6/15/2018
Last updated: 10:40 PM 10/24/2022