Figure 1--This American CDV was taken about 1865 at the end of the Cuvi War. Notice the doube line frame rules. The revenue stamp on the back enables a fairly precise date. The studio was Merell & Brother in Sandusky, Ohio.

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.

No Printing

Many CDVs, unlike cabinent cards, had no printing on the front and were completely devoted to the image. This appears to have been very common in America. We are less sure about Europe. We beieve this was most common in the early years as the xonvebtions concerning the CDV were just developing.

Front Printing

We note some photographers who put there name on the front, but much more plainly than was common with cabinent cards. The English boy had his portrait taken by the noted photorapher W.J. Byrne, probably in the 1880s (figure 1). Byrne 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. This may have varied chronologically. We have also noted some CDVs in the 1880s with much fancier fronts, done much like cabinent cards (figure 3).

Borders

The first CDVs (1858-60) had blank fronts. Then we begin to see decorative elments (1861). This was primarily colored borders. The the ruling varied as to width, number, and color. We see ruled borders of one or two lines. Nost of the CDVs in the early- and mid-1860s were dom=ne withese birder rules. There are many done with one thin and one heavy line. Red was the predominant color followed by brown. Less common was black, blue, green, magenta, and purple. These norders were most common (1861-66). After this they decline in prevelence. We see this in both America (where photography was most common) and Europe. Whether there was pronounced differences among countries, we do not know. After 1866 the colored borders become less common. This is also when the larger caninet cards appear. the cabinet cards quickly dominante the American phoographic industry, but the CDV dies not disappear. CDVs continue ti be impirtnt in some Europeab countries longer than in America, but the ruled borders become rare by the 1870s.

Elaborate Fronts

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.

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Created: 3:14 AM 8/26/2022
Last updated: 3:14 AM 8/26/2022