Woman with a ribbon in her hair
Click here to view it larger.
What it is:
Carte de visite (CDV) measuring a bit less than 2.5 x 4 inches.
What I know about it:
Nothing! Undated and unidentified.
Comments:
Well, I did it. I spent money on photos today. First time in years. When I first discovered the joys of owning vintage photos, and that you could buy them easily online, I gobbled up piles of them for myself. But after a while, I realized that I was spending money on something that I was tossing in boxes and not doing anything with. So I stopped. It didn’t make financial sense, and, maybe some of you will understand this, it didn’t seem fair to the photos. So aside from some that I’ve received as gifts over the years, the photos on my blog have mostly been ones I bought a decade or so ago. Then, of course, I discovered blogging. My collection is seeing the light of day again, and I’m thrilled that these images are being enjoyed by people around the world. Even so, I still resisted buying more. I kept telling myself I couldn’t justify spending more money when I already have enough photos to keep the blog going for a while. But this afternoon (yesterday by the time I post this) I was out walking with my friend Jon in a neighborhood I don’t get to much, and he spotted an antiques store he suggested checking out. And Lo!, in a small basket in the back were photos for one dollar each. Even the cabinet cards and CDVs. How could I resist? Most were pretty trashed or simply uninteresting, but a few caught my eye. I bought three CDVs and a larger press photo (which cost more and which I’ll post later). Here’s one of the CDVs. My attention was really arrested by her face (though, indeed, there isn’t much else on display here). Such a mysterious expression. And those eyes! Huge and, what, green or blue? They must have been mesmerizing in person.
Pics of Then 
Wondering about the press photo! Looking forward to seeing your other treasures!
Thanks! I’ll try to post it tomorrow.
Great! I love old press photos.
This is an 1860s cdv. You can tell by the size of the image – quarter sized in the middle of the print – and the square corners of the card. In the 1870s they started rounding the corners. Nice find!
Thanks, as always, for your feedback. Without a specific date, I hesitate to make hard factual claims, but I need to be a little less lazy about making at least ballpark estimates, so I appreciate your tips. I’m glad you like this. One of the other ones is of a similar vintage, and you can see more of her dress, so I’ll post it in a day or two.
Great find! =D
Thanks!