Almira Richardson, 1860s, photo by S. Anderson, New Orleans, Louisiana

This is a CDV photo of a little girl with the name Almira M. Richardson written on back.  It was taken by S. Anderson of New Orleans.  It is about 2 1/4 by 4 inches, has square corners,  the mount is very thin and it has thin borders, all of which date it to the 1860s.

What makes this interesting to me is that there is an orange two cent  internal revenue tax stamp on back. This were issued by the federal government and were required to be placed on back of CDVs (among other things, I assume) from August 1, 1864 to August 1 1866.

Of course the early to mid 1860s was a time of civil war in the United States, and Louisiana was one of the confederate states.  My assumption is that this tax stamp dates it from sometime between April 1865 (the official end of the civil war) and August 1866.  New Orleans was occupied during part of the civil war period, so it's possible the stamp could have been placed on earlier.

CDV of a Woman from Aurora, Illinois 1880s-1890s

This is a CDV of a woman, taken by D. C. Pratt of Aurora, Illinois, probably in the late 1880s or 1890s.  There is no other identifying information on the CDV.

This woman looks like she may be Native American (Indian), or perhaps Asian, or maybe neither, it is hard to tell - at least for me.  It is sort of Sepia toned, no special background or props, and the clothing she's wearing looks pretty mainstream for the period.

She has a bit an exotic look to her, and that is enough to make this an interesting photo.  At least to me.

Civil war era CDV of a man wearing a military coat

This is a CDV portrait of a young man wearing what looks like a military uniform coat.  If it is indeed a military uniform, that makes it an unusual acquisition, at least for us.    There is photographer information on the back:  E. M. Smith, 268 Main St., Buffalo.   Also, someone wrote the following in pencil:  "Mrs. Goodrich son".   They wrote it exactly like that.

We believe we have a portrait of someone who was either serving (or had served) in the US Army during the time of civil war.

What we know:  The CDV has the right look to be from the 1860s.  The photographer, E. M. Smith, was at the address listed on the back in Buffalo, NY from 1861-1864, which corresponds to the era of the CDV and the dates of the civil war.   The man is definitely of military age, and the coat has a military look to it.

What is conjecture:  We're assuming his last name is Goodrich, but it may not be.  If his father had died and his mother remarried, for example, he probably would not have the same name as his mother.  I'm assuming the coat is military, but I'm no expert. If it is, he was most likely a private, because there is no rank insignia.  NCOs would have patches on the sleeves, officers would have shoulder boards.

So, it is what it is.  Personally, I think this guy was a soldier when this picture was taken.  And I think his last name was probably Goodrich.

Update: Sold!

CDV - Man With A Rifle or Perhaps a Shotgun

 

This is an interesting CDV photo of a man with a rifle or a shotgun.  This is probably from the 1870s-1880s, and it appears to have been taken outside, in a non-studio setting, which was unusual for portraits.

 

I can't tell what kind of weapon he has - I really, really want to say its a shotgun, but I just don't know. He's holding something in his right hand which could be shotgun shells, but it could be something else.   He's dressed in what may be a rather snazzy hunting clothes, with plaid pants bloused into shiny boots, and a derby type hat.

 

The has been trimmed, so it is a little smaller than the standard CDV size.  There is no photographer information or other writing, so there is no indication of who this or where this picture was made.  I'm pretty confident of the time frame though.



CDV Photo of a Man in Cowboy-ish Garb, Waukegan, Illinois, circa 1870s.

 

I suppose I can file this in the CDVs I don't see every day category.  This fellow is decked out in his hat, long coat, a bolo tie (sort of), with his pant legs stuffed into his boots - pretty much the way they were worn back then.  And the boots appear to have what we would call today a "western heel", which was pretty good for stirrups and such.

 

It is super neat!  And that is about the best thing I can say about it.

 

There is a name on back, written in some kind of green substance (crayon?  don't think it's ink), and it is almost impossible for me to be sure.  We think it is A. C. Dier.  But it could be Duir, or any of a number of other names.  We're just guessing.

 

The photographer is R. W. Hook of Waukegan, Illinois.   

I really like this one, and I'm tempted to keep it, but for now it's for sale in the shop - www.leopatti1910.com  (search for "cdv photo man cowboy hat" and you should find it. 

A Hand Colored CDV of a Little Boy - 1860s

The thing that makes this CDV interesting is that parts of it are colored.  I'm pretty sure this was done by hand and it would have had to have been a painstaking process.  The obvious colorized object is the crimson table cloth.  Not so obvious is a very slight pinkish tint on the little boy's cheeks, the gold colored buttons on his shirt and the yellows and greens in the carpet.

I think (but am not positive) that the suit he is wearing is two piece, but the shirt and pants have the same checkered design.  His shoes have what look like metal tips on them, leading us to believe that his parents may have been doing well for themselves. 

This CDV is from the 1860s - we can tell by it's trim & weight (it is relatively thin) and to a lesser extent the clothing style.  There is no tax stamp on it, so it is either before 1864 or after 1865.  Not much to go on, but at least we know when it isn't, if you can follow the logic and grammar.  There is no photographer information or writing or any kind on this photo.    And it does have come condition issues - the corners have been trimmed, and there are some spots of something near the bottom.  But it's in the neighborhood of 150 years old, so we can make allowances I guess

CDV Photo Young Man in a Military Cadet Style Uniform 1870s

This is an 1870s (ish) CDV of a clean shaven young man in a military style uniform.  There is no information of any kind on the CDV - no backstamp, no photographer's info, no writing, absolutely nothing. 

That's too bad, because it makes it hard to even conjecture about this person.

So, primarily I'm interested in what kind of uniform he's wearing.  It is certainly a military style uniform, but lots of uniforms are military style, without actually being military.

My first thought was that this is probably a cadet's uniform, and I had to make an assumption, having nothing else to go on, that it was probably not one of these private military college prep type schools.  I had to assume it was something like West Point, or perhaps VMI or the Citadel.

So we spent a lot of time (well, some time) online looking at 19th cadet uniforms, especially at West Point and VMI.  And I can't tell anything for absolute certainty, but this looks closer to a West Point uniform.  The VMI collars seemed to be higher.  Also, I don't really know what color the jacket is - it looks gray, but it could be easily be something else. 

Any out there know for sure?


CDV Photo Reverend Maxwell Wright, Edinburgh Scotland, 1860s

 

This is a CDV photo of a man with some good sized mutton chops.  He's sitting in a fancy chair, is well dressed, holding a pair of gloves and has a top hat on the table next to him.  It is possible he's wearing a cleric's collar, but I can't really tell. 

 

His name is written on back as "Rev'd Maxwell Wright".  I'm making a couple of assumptions here; I assume that "Rev'd" is an abbreviation for Reverend.  Also the hand writing is not the best, so it is possible I have the name wrong, but I believe Maxwell Wright is what it is.  Since I'm assuming he's a Reverend, it follows that he might be wearing a cleric's collar.  I'm not a 100% sure.

 

The photographer's name is J. Moffat, and his address was 103 Princes Street, Edinburg Scotland.  John Moffat was born in 1819 in Aberdeen and died in Edinburgh in 1894.  You can find out a ton of information about the photographer at the following site:  www.edinphoto.org.uk  

 

This is a clean, sharp photo, and it is almost certainly from the 1860s.

 

CDV of an older woman wearing a large hoop dress and whilte mantilla, taken by Robert Slingsby

This is a CDV of an older woman wearing a large hoop dress and an white mantilla.

I learn a lot about fashion from old pictures - to me, man that I am, she's wearing a veil.  To my better half, woman that she is, she's wearing a mantilla.  A mantilla is covers the neck and shoulders, while a veil covers the head and face.  I believe that's the difference. 

Either way, the elaborate dress and the head covering make this an interesting photo. 

The backstamp lists the photographer as R. Slingsby of Lincoln (U.K.).  There is a blurb indicating he was patronized by the Prince of Wales, and reproductions of awards he received in 1868 and 1869.  Robert Slingsby was a well known photographer of the time, active between 1859 and the 1890s. 

I found the follwing information on http://dating-au.com/slingsby-robert-d-1895/ :

"Slingsby's more important contribution to photog­raphy was his work on the development of flash light for photography. As early as 1869 he had a photograph reproduced in the Illustrated London News that had been produced using artificial light and between 1890 and 1891 he was granted four patents relating to the use of magnesium for flash photography one of which related to a shutter that could be synchronised to the discharge of magnesium."

So Robert Slingsby was a bit more than the run of the mill 19th century portrait photographer.  He died in 1895.

CDV of a Young Woman in Neu-Strelitz Germany

This is a CDV photo of a young woman, taken by H. A. Krull in Neu-Strelitz, Germany.   What I find interesting about this is the hat she is wearing.  In our eBay listing we called it a "Santa Claus" hat, but I'm sure it's not.  It has a fringe with some sort of plume behind it, and they are probably white.  The cap is a dark color, but which dark color is anybody's guess.   She is also wearing a long necklace, perhaps with a locket, earrings, and a ring on her right hand.

Neu-Strelitz is north of Berlin.

On the back of this card is photographer information and a couple of medallions.  Photographers, especailly European photographers, would frequently include copies of awards they had won on the backing of the photograph.  One of the medallions on this one has a date of 1863.

If this were an American CDV, I'd estimate it from the 1880s, just by the physical characteristics of the photo and the backing.   It's possible this is from the 1880s also, but since it's from Europe I can't be positive.  It may be earlier.  But I think 1880s would be a good estimate.  No matter what - it's old.

Update: Sold!

CDV Photo of Two Men, Chester County, Pennsylvania - 1860's

This is a CDV (Carte de viste) photo of two men sitting in chairs.  It was taken by an A. McCormick, of Oxford, Chester County, Pennsylvania.  I can date this to the 1860s for a couple of reasons, but mainly because there is a green George Washington 3 cent tax stamp on back.  I believe this particular stamp dates this photo to 1864.

CDVs are small, usually about 2.5 x 4 inches, usually with an albumen print affixed to a cardboard backing.  They were popular from the 1850s to the 1880s at least.  The thickness and look of the cardboard, plus the styles of the graphics advertising the photographer also give clues to the date.   If you're expert enough, you may also be able to tell by clothing or hair styles - of course people aren't always current with the latest fashions, especially older people.  Sometimes people are nice and write names and dates on it, but usually not.  And sometimes it has a tax stamp.

I like this CDV because it has two men in it, they have interesting mustaches and beards, the hats seem a little unusual, and they're wearing long coats, they both have on what looks like the same kinds of boots, and of course, the tax stamp on back.  And the actual picture looks nicer than what I could reproduce.