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Hints For Dating an Ancestor Photograph
Corners From 1859 on, CDVs (Cartes de Visite) had square cut corners. From 1872 on, corners were rounded.
Card Backs In the 1860s the backs of CDVs were very thin, often they were layers of paper/cardboard. By 1870 the backs were getting thicker. By the later 1880s and 1890s the backs were very thick.
Verso (Back) The 1860s verso had a simple logo and writing, somewhat like an ink stamp. By 1865 the logo had changed to a design in the middle. By 1868 logo designs had begun to be much more intricate and by the 1870s there was usually a design within a shaped frame.
Revenue Stamps were required on photographs in the USA from 1864 to 1866. Their presence (or their absence) gives us the approximate dates of ancestor photographs of the Civil War era.
Another method of dating old photographs is to look for the Photographer's printed address on the back of the card, then research the known dates of his studios.
For more information and help dating old photographs, plus images, see Hints for Dating Old Photographs
Card Backs In the 1860s the backs of CDVs were very thin, often they were layers of paper/cardboard. By 1870 the backs were getting thicker. By the later 1880s and 1890s the backs were very thick.
Verso (Back) The 1860s verso had a simple logo and writing, somewhat like an ink stamp. By 1865 the logo had changed to a design in the middle. By 1868 logo designs had begun to be much more intricate and by the 1870s there was usually a design within a shaped frame.
Revenue Stamps were required on photographs in the USA from 1864 to 1866. Their presence (or their absence) gives us the approximate dates of ancestor photographs of the Civil War era.
Another method of dating old photographs is to look for the Photographer's printed address on the back of the card, then research the known dates of his studios.
For more information and help dating old photographs, plus images, see Hints for Dating Old Photographs
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Margaret Shuey on
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Thank you so much for posting this information. I have many of these CDV's and this really helps in dating them. I have a number of CDV's from England and Norway. Are there any specific tips for dating these or would it be similar to dating CDV's produced in the US?
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Permalink Reply by Lorine McGinnis Schulze on
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Hi Margaret
English photos are similar timeframe for each type of photography (ambrotype, daguerreotype, CDV, etc) but the clothing styles are slightly different. A good website for reference is Photographers of Great Britain & Ireland There are many others, some deal specifically with daguerreotypes or cartes de visite for example.
I'm afraid I am not familiar with Norway photography. -
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Permalink Reply by Jerry Cranford on
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When were tintypes in fashion and when did they go out of fashion?
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Tintypes began in 1855 and continued into the 20th century. You have to use clothing clues, hairstyles and so on to date them. See Types of Early Photographs in this Discussion Forum, also see Lost Faces Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Carol Weldon on
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I've seen information indicating up to the 1920s.
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Permalink Reply by William S Dean on
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Hello, all
This is a great concept for a group. And helpful tips, too. As stated, the printed information on a carte-de-visite or cabinet card, for example, can be very helpful for more accurately dating a photograph. One of the techniques I use for researching the photographers is the Federal Census and history of photography blogs (use google). The photograph attached is an old family one of a cousin which was presumed to be c. 1880. However, in researching the photographer "J. Crissman" some great information was discovered along with the correct dating. Joshua Crissman was a pretty well known photographer, specializing in Yellowstone and other natural wonder photography. He also assisted the even more famous photographer William Henry Jackson. In 1884-1885, however, according to a brief biography, he moved to Santa Ana and worked as a portrait photographer. So the photo of my ancestor cousin can be dated to that time and not the previously thought 1880. Research pays off! -
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What a great story and very helpful to all of us to hear how you sleuthed out a more accurate date for this terrific photo. Thanks for sharing it with the group.
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Hi, all
Thank you Lorine for your kind comments. I don't know how many posters already know about this website, but there are some quite inclusive lists of printers and photographers the website has put together which may help date your family photographs from the UK:
http://www.cartes.freeuk.com/time/date.htm
I'm starting to work on a similar listing for US printers and photographers.
best wishes
William -
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