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Edges By the s, cabinet card mounts sometimes had bevelled edges, and were often finished in gold or silver.
Colour The colour of the cardboard mount can also help date the photograph. Cream mounts were always popular, but bolder, dark colours like black, dark brown, green or burgundy began to appear in the s and s. However, my ancestors did not provide the names of people in the photos.
I only have the identity of the photography shop. Is there any way to find out who is in the photos through the photography shop? Can you please advise. I have been passed down a very old book with the cabinet portraits in im looking to get it checked out as I do not know how much it is worth if anyone can help.
I live in the U. No single rule applies across all cards. Card edges experienced numerous changes during the latter s. These included beveled edges, gilt treatment, and scalloped edges. Throughout the time however, plain straight cut edges could be found also. The simplest ones were the cheapest and there was always a market for them. Read an overview, detail outline, and sample pages of the most complete guide to Cabinet Cards.
Everything you need in a step-by-step guide to help you establish a reliable date of your cabinet cards. Beginning of modern portrait photography. Some of the characteristics to look at include: Card Colors Initially, cabinet cards were made from natural raw bristol board, both front and back. Dark cards popular from to Imprints - Front and Back Imprints are the text and artwork printed on the card.
Front Imprint Several style changes are easily datable. Small, plain print Artistic print Foil stamped artistic print Embossed artistic print. Medium size less than half the back Artwork covers nearly all the back. Card Borders The borders lines or artwork on the card and the manner in which the card edges were cut or treated are some of the best known clues to dating the cabinet card. Characteristics to look for are: From August 1 st to August 1 st the US government required that tax stamps be put on photographs.
A later amendment allowed for 1 cent stamps to be used. CDVs with a 1 cent stamp date between March and August Blue stamps are from the summer of The stamps often have a cancellation date. However, if everything else looks consistent with the era, a tax stamp is a great bonus and will usually raise the value. Typical to the era, the front has square corners and plain white borders.
The back has a small photography studio text and a 2 cent tax stamp. Also notice that there is little in the background behind the young soldier.
Most of us have a cabinet card in our collection of old ancestral photos, which tells us it was most likely taken between about and The cabinet card was a style of photograph which was widely used for photographic portraiture after
Cincinnati Red Stockings baseball team. On the left is a s CDV with a small, conservative photography text. On the right is a late s example with a large, busy text and design. The cabinet card is a larger version of the carte de visite, which it replaced in popularity.
It received its name because it was popular to display the mounted photograph in a cabinet. Cabinets depict a wide variety of subjects, including normal families, Presidents and celebrities, animals, buildings, nature and school classes. High end cabinet cards depicting famous athletes regularly sell for hundreds of dollars and more. Dating the Cabinet Card. Along with the subject in the image, the mount style is helpful in giving an approximate date. The following are the general style trends. Cabinet cards with albumen prints usually date s and before.
Some of the characteristics to look at include:. About Contact Policies Privacy. Owing to the larger image size, the cabinet card steadily increased in popularity during the second half of the s and into the s, replacing the carte de visite as the most popular form of portraiture. Digital identities 1 Judy Bach: The ornate embossed design on the mount helps identify it as bein as from the s. These were artistic photographs that resemble a cross between photographs and charcoal or crayon sketches. Front Imprint Several style changes are easily datable.
Most s cabinets are gelatin-silver. Later s cabinets can be either albumen or gelatin. Cabinets with cyanotypes, carbon prints and photomechanical prints can be found from both centuries. The earliest cabinet card mounts were thin, light in weight and light cream, sepia, white or off white.
While these light colors were used for many years after, in the s and later various colors were used. If a cabinet has a black, red, green or dark grey mount, for examples, the cabinet more than probably dates to the s or after. If the name and design on back is ornate and takes up the entire back, the cabinet dates s or later. Cards with gold beveled edges date to the mid s to just after Jet black mounts with gold text mostly date to the late ss. Cabinets from the s often have scalloped edges. Cabinet cards with an embossed studio name and other embossed designs on the front of the mount date to the s or later.
In the early s mounts often came in different shapes and designs, including square. These cabinets often have intricate designs or embossed patterns on the mounts, often with an embossed faux frame around the gelatin-silver print. The earlier the cabinet the rarer.
Cabinets from the s are rarer than from s and so on. When in doubt, a cabinet is more likely to be from the s than the s.
Early s cabinet card of a football player. The ornate embossed design on the mount helps identify it as bein as from the s. Two mounted photographs shot by a special camera to give a 3-Dimensional effect when viewed through a special viewer.