- Joined
- Nov 26, 2016
- Location
- central NC
I just recently stumbled across cabinet cards while researching my latest Civil War obsession, vintage hats (maybe a future thread idea). Introduced in the 1860s, cabinet card photographs were similar to carte-de-visites, but considerably larger. They were mounted on cardstock and measured approximately four inches by six inches. Apparently they got their name because they were just the right size to be displayed on a cabinet.
Some cabinet cards depicted landscapes, but most featured portraits of individuals or families. Often mailed to friends and family, they were the precursor to photo postcards and reached the height of their popularity in the 1870s through the 1890s. Early cabinet cards were sepia-toned (see below), but the majority were printed in black-and-white.
Many cabinet cards I have found feature the name and location of the photographer printed on the front of the card underneath the picture. Some have backmarks advertising the photographer, but many have no markings at all. I’ve found some “doozies.” Here’s one of an 1800s (likely 1880s) wedding couple to whet your appetite.
From Monovisions
What is sepia-toned?
If you’re like me you have no idea what sepia-toned means. I looked it up and it’s a type of monochrome photographic image in which the picture appears in shades of brown as opposed to greyscale as in a black-and-white image. It was originally produced by adding a pigment made from the Sepia cuttlefish (something else I need to look up) to the positive print of a photograph taken with any number of negative processes.
Some cabinet cards depicted landscapes, but most featured portraits of individuals or families. Often mailed to friends and family, they were the precursor to photo postcards and reached the height of their popularity in the 1870s through the 1890s. Early cabinet cards were sepia-toned (see below), but the majority were printed in black-and-white.
Many cabinet cards I have found feature the name and location of the photographer printed on the front of the card underneath the picture. Some have backmarks advertising the photographer, but many have no markings at all. I’ve found some “doozies.” Here’s one of an 1800s (likely 1880s) wedding couple to whet your appetite.
From Monovisions
What is sepia-toned?
If you’re like me you have no idea what sepia-toned means. I looked it up and it’s a type of monochrome photographic image in which the picture appears in shades of brown as opposed to greyscale as in a black-and-white image. It was originally produced by adding a pigment made from the Sepia cuttlefish (something else I need to look up) to the positive print of a photograph taken with any number of negative processes.