This week, my dear bloggy friend Alan, over at News From Nowhere, mentioned finding a lovely carte de viste on a recent trip to an antique fair. As synchronicity would have it, I also found a lovely CDV while browsing in a local antique shop last month. This lovely young lady whispered my name, from a dusty box of vintage ephemera, atop an old filing cabinet. I paid $2, popped her in my handbag and whisked her off to the manor.Carte de viste, or CDV, is a small victorian photo made of an albumen print, a thin paper photograph, mounted on a thicker card. They are usually 2 1/2 x 4 inches, about the size of a calling card. "Cardomania" became enormously popular beginning in about 1860 in the United States, and the photo cards were traded wildly among friends and visitors. By 1870, carte de vistes were replaced by the larger cabinet card photos, 4 1/2 x 6 1/2 inches, which remained popular until the arrival of the Brownie camera and home photography snapshots became the rage.
Something about this young woman in the photo drew me to her. She reminds me of Winona Ryder in the role of May Welland in Scorsese's film version of Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence, so fresh and full of hope. I wonder if the twisted pearl choker was a gift from a special someone? 
After I bring a vintage treasure home, part of the thrill is doing a bit of detective work. As you can see from the reverse of the card, the photo was taken by Urlin Photographer, 216 and 218 South High Street, Columbus, Ohio. G. C. Urlin was a prominent local photographer in the late 19th century, with a gallery located in downtown Columbus. I located a similar photo taken in 1895 by Urlin of Lulu Billheimer Wright, married to Reuchlin Wright, brother of the famous Wright brothers, as part of the Wright Brothers Collection, Wright State University. I also took a little trip to 216 S. High via Google Earth and found the original spot has now been replaced by a high rise building, which was actually no surprise.I hate to see charming vintage photographs separated from their families, tucked away in lonely stacks in flea markets and shops. I'm often known to pick up those with which I feel a certain connection. You might remember the great framed photo of this little guy I adopted last year from the Heart of Ohio Antique Mall. He has an uncanny resemblance to my youngest son, and feels right at home at Willow Manor.
I don't know which is more fun, finding the treasure or doing the investigative work when you get the treasure home.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry but I had to laugh when I read your post, because . . . it reminded me of an interview I once saw on television of the actress Kirstie Alley. It was done in her home and Barbara (or whoever it was) called attention to a fancy silver frame on a mantel and asked Kirstie if the people show in the photo were relatives of hers. Kirstie said "No, they just came with the frame!"
ReplyDeleteI am often haunted by those antique orphaned photos of people now forgotten...a wonderful post.
ReplyDelete(p.s. I adore "The Age of Innocence," both movie and book...)
you have some of the most amazing treasures around your house willow...
ReplyDeleteI had to stop Lady Magnon buying a whole album-full recently. They were interesting ,but slightly creepy. The picture of the small boy is a classic!
ReplyDeleteBisou, Cro.
A determined looking young woman! I like her.
ReplyDeleteYou found a beauty! Gosh, I love the Age of Innocence... should watch it again. It's such eye candy and I enjoy the narrator - and her accent.
ReplyDeleteI often think what will happen to all of our photos when someone down the line...
ReplyDeleteYou have such patience, willow. If I were to buy something like a cdv I would look at it, perhaps frame it but not think twice about it after that. More power to your elbow for all the detective work you then put into it.
ReplyDeleteGlad she found a home with you and thanks for the education. I've NEVER heard of these!
ReplyDeleteI'll be keeping my eyes open for CDVs when I'm on my travels. You and Alan have aroused my curiosity now.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting find!
ReplyDeleteI recently photographed pages of a photo album (with permission) that was for sale at a flea market. Imagine, black and white pictures on those classic black plates, with handwritten captions, chronicling a young couple's life in the Sixties. I found it heartbreaking that the person who had assembled it had heirs who did not care enough to keep it!
What an interesting hobby you have! And you make it fascinating to the rest of us too.
ReplyDeleteMy wife used to run a small antique store in the States and always had plenty of old photos around. They used to refer to them as “instant relatives” which I think is a lovely expression. I remember when my mother died my brother, sister and I sat around dividing up the relatives; no photo was thrown out – that was unthinkable – every one found a home.
ReplyDeleteThere’s a site I visit regularly which I think you might like. The guy works with old books and has started posting copies of the bits of paper and photos that people of old have used as bookmarks. Some of the photos are wonderful. The site is The Age of Uncertainty.
You describe the pleasure that can be found within these forgotten old photographs so well. But any mention of our joint hobby should carry a brief health warning - it can be compulsive, There is a excellent blog called Forgotten Old Photos - http://forgottenoldphotos.blogspot.com/ - which tries to reunite old CDVs and cabinet cards to their families. Sepia Saturday greetings from one cardomaniac to another.
ReplyDeleteI thought I was the only one! Before we moved a few years back, I finally got rid of all my "instant relatives". I felt the same way whenever I was at an estate sale and there were old photographs, I felt so bad for them, I would buy them. I just kept them all in a bowl in my living room. I invented names and stories for most of them. I'm so glad to know I'm not alone in this - and will be telling my husband because he was SURE nobody else would do this.
ReplyDeleteArtslice, oh, me too! The Age of Innocence is deliciously narrated by the lovely Joanne Woodward.
ReplyDeletewonderful. as you may recall i also did a post on CDV's and cabinet cards of which I have a large stack from my mom's boxes of memorabilia. i am sure many are relative but most arent labeled. love 'em. and after reading your readers comments i have two new blogs to check out. thanks.
ReplyDeleteI can see it now — your missives will be out there, foraging through antique shops now, looking for cdvs. You just may start a new phenomenon!
ReplyDeleteI'd be hard-pressed to leave that photo behind too.
Kat
Something about her eyes--they are the youth and softness of her face. I love that you pick up orphaned photographs and other great finds and tell us all about them. Visiting the Manor is like sitting down to a delicious meal with a long-time friend.
ReplyDeleteThe resemblance to Winona Ryder is quite strong, as is the young woman's sense of character.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting post and informative, Willow.
When I find those ole photo's I am mesermized by them. I just wonder who they were, their loves, and sufferings,accomplishments,
ReplyDeleteadventures,unfulled wishes.
She does have an innocent face, but strong.
yvonne
I know of a couple of folks that still use th' old Brownie cameras. Kinda nice that one can still find the film for them. As always an informative post :)
ReplyDeleteLast night I went to a local Mexican restaurant and saw an enormous portrait of 19th century woman. Someone had painted a Mexican dog mask over her face.
ReplyDeleteAnd it made me sad. Once, there was a woman who had her portrait painted and who probably thought it would last forever.
Someone else saw it and saw a fun opportunity to make a piece of modern art.
It was cool, yet it also seemed somehow mean.
Hello Willow,
ReplyDelete$2 worth of history! Pity you aren't able to discover more about the young lady.
The way your mind works never ceases to amaze me. You have inspired me to leave the cleaning and take the grandkids to a flea market today. Thanks for the idea!
ReplyDeleteWillow I think we are kindred spirits. I do this so often. I rescue photographs that I see abandoned and thrown in for sale. I am haunted by them and try hard to research where they came from. I have a mother and child framed which everyone thinks is a family member.
ReplyDeleteShe does look a little like Winona! I'd never heard of the CDVs before Alan's post--thanks for picking up the thread.
ReplyDeleteFeeling a connection to something from the past is such a haunting experience. Like you, I see stories in the simplest items used by those who came before. My imagination can run wild and before I know it, there's a long history to the item. The one thing I'd love to discover is a love letter from a hundred or more years ago. Perhaps someday...
ReplyDeleteTeresa, I haven't found a love letter, but I did find the most romantic inscription on the flyleaf of a vintage book!
ReplyDeletehttp://willowmanor.blogspot.com/2009/12/pen-pals-and-flyleaves.html
I saw a whole "photo album" of those in an antique store here, I think. The pages were very thick and had two photo's on a page. I loved it, but the 120 dollar price tag was too much for us right now...but, i loved it! It was very, very old.
ReplyDeleteAh, Willow... lovely CDV....but hope the young lady pictured was NOT as "Sweetly-Deadly" as Winona's character in "Age of Innocence"... ;)
ReplyDeleteQuick question before you change your header....is that a Wolf or a Sheep? I am serious.... if you look intently, it could be either -hmmm...perhaps a "Were-Sheep"? It is beautiful, no matter what....
Enjoy your weekend.....
Hugs,
♥ Robin ♥
Robin, I've always thought he was a lion...heehee! He holds a little ring on a pewter push plate on the swinging door from the kitchen into the dining room.
ReplyDeleteOh, I've done the same in antique shops and at our local flea market--snapping up gorgeous old photos that just speak to me. This one's a beauty, Willow, and so is the photo of the sweet wee one who resembles your son. thanks for sharing them!
ReplyDeleteI think I have some of these cabinet cards in the family collection. Ill have to check. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThank you for giving me the link to that lovely inscription. I'm absolutely enchanted with the words, "His Lady of Satin and Silver."
ReplyDeleteLoved your post -- as I have been attracted to all things vintage since childhood. Old photographs are wonderful to find. The larger folk-scapes can tell all kinds of stories even when you don't know who or what the photos are all about. I was so foolish years ago to sell off all my best vintage photos to take a trip. I miss the photos and the trip is long forgotten. Hopefully I am wiser now. So enjoyed! -- barbara
ReplyDeleteDear Willow: Thank-you for the equisite history lesson regarding antique photography. How gentle and humble the spirit of persons portrayed in these new fangled daguerrotypes. The photographic inventions such as stereoviewfinders are treasures. I've always wondered how the ancestor to the business card evolved. What a fine collection. I have an old French postcard from the turn-of-the-century (1900) with a woman with a Gibson hairstyle with a young child; I believe a Happy New Year (Bonne Annee) card. The Wright Brothers! Double Wowsa! Ohio being the aeronautics capital as well as the state with the most presidents born there. Wow! Must be something in the water! Now that's a find! Anything on Amelia Earhardt? Did you ever see her hands? In National Geographic...wish I could find that article! Oh no not the "hand" again!
ReplyDeleteI always learn so much whenever I read your posts, and they are always filled with most fascinating information. I can see why you drawn to that CDV, it is undoubtedly uniquely beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a habit of browsing antique shops as my wife will confirm. However, recently in Adelaide, I found myself browsing in said shop (with said beloved) and stumbled onto a collection of postcards dating back up to 60 years. They were not "new" but all had been written on and posted to loved ones, friends etc. Not a collection of one person's cards but a collection of cards from many sources. Each held a succinct story capturing holidays, family business, joy and troubles. They captured the feelings and quality of each era Each was hand written invariably in beautiful running script. I didn't find an antique photograph but the cards had the same fascination. I felt like I'd become a part of the private lives of these strangers.
ReplyDeleteShe looks like she could be one of your family.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to read your posts with all their information. I no longer even go into shops since I must downsize and I know I lack will power! I'd be bringing home items I don't need and can no longer afford. I am just as happy living vicariously through your purchases and through those of my bloggy friends.
ReplyDeleteWillow - a lion? Oh my... well, he's beautiful no matter what....(but now, he really does resemble a "Were-Sheep" to me)!
ReplyDeleteLove your home and all the wonderful objects you have in it!
Hugs,
♥ Robin ♥
CDV's are windows onto a time gone by, to be sure! (My ex was the chief print archivist at the Eastman House for many years and got to peruse the cream of the crop there.)
ReplyDeleteI remember being in an antique shop in coastal Maine last year and feeling the same way you did about the old photos being separated from their families. I felt so bad for them knowing they were all deceased yet there was no one left to claim them. So many of them . . .
ReplyDeleteThanks for the information about the carte de viste. I have none of these in my possession. Either my family didn't have them made, they didn't survive, or they didn't get handed down to me. Stil, interesting to learn about them. She's quite lovely, but I love your little boy.
ReplyDeleteLovely picture...wonderful rescue.
ReplyDeleteWhen I see those old pictures piled in baskets and lying around,
I always say "Someone would love to have that"...shame..
blessings,
glenda
her hair is so smooth! and the pearl choker is lovely
ReplyDeleteyes, it does seem so sad seeing abandoned nameless photos. I'm glad you rescued this one