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Methods
of
Dating Cartes de Visite
There are many possible ways of estimating the
dates of carte de visite photos:
1. Sometimes (but rarely) a
handwritten date has
been added to the back of the photo. But in most cases there is
neither a date nor a name of the sitter.
2. The photographer's
name and address can be
matched against entries in old trade directories directly, or more easily
against entries on this web site or in books such as those produced by
Richard Torrance
3. Where a photographer added illustrations
of his medals on
the back of his cartes de visite, the dates on these medals can be helpful
in dating the photo.
4. Fashions
and hairstyles of the subjects can be matched against reference books,
such as Dating Old Photographs by Robert Pols.
5. Later cartes de visite tended to have
more ornate backs.
Earlier ones usually just showed the photographer's name and address,
often in very small simple text.
6. Early cartes de visite tended to be on
fairly thin card
with square corners. Later cartes were often on thicker card,
usually with rounded corners. |
