Figure 1.--The English boy had his portrait taken by the noted photorapher W.J. Byrne, probably in the 1880s. He put his name on the front. This was a very common mount design in England during the 1870s and 80s, just the photographic studio at the left and the city at the right. The orint was done in different colors. Many other photographers only had their name on the back of CDVs. Image courtesy of the MD collection.

The Carte de Visite (CDVs) began as a kind of calling card, to leave at a home when the individual a person was calling on was not at home. CDVs like cabinent cards were mounted on a cardboard mount. this was a protective measure. The front of the card had the photograph pasted on the mounted. The actual print was on much less substantuial photogaphic paper than is the case with modern print. Thus the mount was necessary to protect it. Many CDVs, unlike cabinent cards, had no printing on the front and were completely devoted to the image. The back of the card had the name and usually the address of the phographer, normally in an elaborate design. CDVs seem, however, much more varied than cabinent cards. We note some photographers who put there name on the front, but much more plainly than was common with cabinent cards. This may have varied chronologically. We have also noted some CDVs in the 1880s with fronts much like cabinnt cards. We also notice some CDVs with elaborately styled fronts. These are almos all 20th century CDVs. Some German CDVs printed in the early 20th century before World War I, for example, had Art-deco styling. Some collectors consider these to be really attractive little objects. Most of the cards in our collection are American CDVs. American CDVs, however, can be misleading. The CDV in the United States had a relatively short life. They were largely, but not entirely replaced by cabinent xards in the 1870s. The CDV had a longer life-span in many European countries. Thus we want to assess any significant country differences in CDV mounts. We hope to eventually assess CDVs styles un different countries, but for this we will have to expabd our archive of European CDVs. As far as we can tell, the mounts used in Europe were very similar. Here a factor is that oten the photographers in smaller countries were eith French or German. Another factor of course is that most of Europe was dominated by three huge empires (Austria-Hungaria, Germany, and Russia). A fourth empire was the Ottomans, but they were less important in terms of photography.

Figure 2.--This undated English portrait was probably taken in the 1860s. It was printed on heavy stock rather than pasted on a card. The child wears a colored dress and long pantalettes. We are not sure if the child is a boy or girl. The photographer on the back is identified as H. Howle, High St., Newport, Salop.

Chronology

The various characteristics of CDVs, especially the mounts, can be important clues in helping to date he many cards without any privinance. The first cards were quite simple. Prints were initially pasted on thin white or ivory stock which had with square corners. There were initially no idely accepted conventions for CDV mounts. Very quickly photographers began using the cards to identify their business, a convinient form of advertisement. Soon a standard format developed. The photographer put his name at the bottom left and the city opposite it at the bottom right. The bavls were more varied. Gradually thicker stock became standard as did rounded corners. Colors were intrloduced There were a variety of colors such as light green and pink as well as white and cream. [McCulloch] The white/cream colors in particular are subject to yellowing or other discolortion over time. A new format developed by the 1880s with CDVs made to look like the more elaborate cabinent card mounts.

Unmounted

Most CDVs we have noted are images mounted on pre-printed cardboard stock mounts. We have note, however, some prints from the 1860s-70s that were CDV size, but printed on heavy stock paper rather than being mounted. These had print on the back identifying the studio. We are unsure at this time just how common these were relative to the mounted CDVs. As they are mostly CDV-size prints, we consider them along with the CDVs on this page.

Purpose

The CDV began as a kind of calling card, to leave at a home when the individul a person was calling on was not at home. CDVs like cabinent cards were mounted on a cardboard mount. this was a protectivevmeasure. The front of the card had the photograph pasted on the mounted. The actual print was on much less substantuial photogaphic paper than is the case with modern print. Thus the mount was necessary to protect it. It was also a useful place to adverize your studio. Mny remind clients that they can order reprints and oftn there are ciode numbers to facilitte this. .

Country Trends

Most of the cards in our collection are American CDVs. American CDVs, however, can be misleading. The CDV in the United States had a relatively short life. They were largely, but not entirely replaced by cabinent xards in the 1870s. The CDV had a longer life-span in many European countries. Thus we want to assess any significant country differences in CDV mounts. We hope to eventually assess CDVs styles un different countries, but for this we will have to expabd our archive of European CDVs. As far as we can tell, the mounts used in Europe were very similar. Here a factor is that oten the photographers in smaller countries were eith French or German. Another factor of course is that most of Europe was dominated by three huge empires (Austria-Hungaria, Germany, and Russia). A fourth empire was the Ottomans, but they were less important in terms of photography.

Figure 3--This undated Scottish portrait has a front rather like a cabinent card, only scaled down. Interestingly, the photographer called it a "cabinent". One the back it reads, "Copies of the cabinent can be had at any time." The photographer was McLucas and Co located on Vaughn St in Llanelly.

Front Types

CDVs were done in a variety of different styles. CDVs seem, however, much more varied than cabinent cards. We notice cards without any printing. Many early cards had no printing. Other cards had very basic fronts while others could be quite fancy. Some fronts here completely blank. Most had a variety of ruled borders. Here the ruling varied as to width, number, and color. The variety led to quite a variety of differer rules used on CDVs. There were two basic styles. The First had the studio and city at the bottom of the card in very basic print styles. The second was more elaborate printing with colored mounts, looking rather like minature cabinent cards. There were a variety of borders. Some fronts around the turn-of-the 20th century had artistic designs. We also notice some CDVs with elaborately styled fronts. These are almos all 20th century CDVs. Some German CDVs printed in the early 20th century before World War I, for example, had art-deco styling. Some collectors consider these to be really attractive little objects.

Figure 4.--The German CDV was taken in 1912 and had an artistic art-deco mount. Image courtesy of the MD collection.

Card Back

The back of the card had the name and usually the address of the phographer, normally in an elaborate design. This also varied. Some cards had very simple backs. Many studios, virtually all substantial studios in major cities, had mounts especially printed with their names and logos on the backs. Not all studios have printed backs. Many of the early cards have blank backs. Small start up studiuos and itinerant photographers also commonly have blank backs.

Dates

Some of the CDVs have dates on the back. Here we are not talking about dates and names parents have written on the back, but rather printed dates with the nanes of the studios and other commercial messages. Sometimes there is a date without explanation. This seems to be a kibf of dating system with the studio ordering new cards. With these cards we believe that these dates are relatively good indicators as to the date the portrait was taken. Other cards have awards the studios have worn with the dates for these awards. The portrait would presumably have been taken at least a year after the latest award. We think that generally the portraits would have been taken within a few years of the latest award. Some cards have copy rights. Again we think the portraits would have been probably been taken at least ayear after the copyright, but within a few years of it. We think this is in part because astudio would not have wanted old dates in their cards as this would have suggested tht the studio was backward or not keeping up with the times, but here we are only speculating at this time. Perhaps reader will know more about this.

Dating Card Mounts

We intend to develop some guidelines for dating CDVs. Here we are somewhat limited because many of the CDVs we have archived are undated. We intend to begin assessing those CDVs that are dated. One guideline is that many of the early CDVs did not have printed lettering identifying the studio. Our general assessment is that the CDVs without printing are probably from the 1860s or 70s. An example here is an undated CDV of an American boy, Dan Brown. We would guess it was taken in the 1870s. We note many different colors of mounts, lettering, and border styles. We also note square and rounded corners. We do not yet know the chronological range for these different factos, but will begin to archive the full cards in this section in an effort to devlop some chronological indicators. This is quite a complicated undertaking, in part because the trends may have varied from country to country. While we have found many different CDV mounts, the problem is tht most are not dated and we can only use dated mounts to build a reliable list of chronological indicators.

Sources

McCulloch, Lou W. In Card Photographs: A Guide to Their History and Value (Schiffer).

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Created: May 3, 2003
Last updated: 2:31 AM 8/26/2022