Cartes de visites were a popular means of letting members
of a family at a distance receive a likeness of a relative.
From the pictures and the style of the mountings it is possible to
date a picture which might make the difference between identifying
someone as Great-aunt Lottie when it is actually her daughter, Letitia.
Although photographs were around much earlier the majority of people
could not afford them before the 1860s.
These are normally very easy to identify as the card mountings are
very thin and the subject is almost always seen at full length.
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These two pictures above are classic early
1860s portraits. This is shown by the fact that the card shows the
complete subject with space above and below. Also in the picture of
the woman the carpet can be seen as well as a mantelpiece.
The woman’s hairstyle is also normal for this period with the
ears fully covered. This point on its own would not have been enough
to date a picture, however, because older woman retained styles into
later decades.
By the 1870s the hair had come off the ears and the poses were not
as stiff or formal for women.
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Judge by the picture bottom here in which the woman is semi-kneeling
on a chaise longue. Her hair is back and her dress is much lighter.
By this period furniture would be used as a prop and never fully seen.
The sloping rather than high bustle also indicates late 1860s to first
half of 70s.
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The picture of this man is more likely to be late 1870s and possibly
even 1880s. By this time the style for men was a more formal head
and shoulders.
The high buttoned jacket, and cravat with pin rather than a tie point
towards the turn of the decade.
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This picture of the young lady in a floral dress with a painted
backdrop, is harder to identify. The style of pose indicates a mid
80s to 90s and the brightness of the dress indicates a similar period.
The card itself, however, and its simple border, hints more at the
late 1860s. It may be that the photographer was using up old stock
for the mounting. |
The child’s picture looks like a solemn young
girl but is more likely to be a boy as they were kept in skirts until
about three or four years old and it is probably from the 1870s —
after this little boys used to go into trousers and sailor suits.
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| This could be a family member who rode as an amateur jockey or it
could just be a multi-copy picture of a jockey of the time so beware
of putting him in the family. By the head and shoulders with softened
surround it is probably late 80s or 1890s. |
The young man has a high-crowned bowler popular in the 1870s but
the style may have edged into the early 80s.
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The collar and smocked yoke on the dress indicate 1880s
onwards but the child’s hairstyle would point towards the 1890s.
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This is a typical late 1890s pose with a head and shoulders pose
and the softened area, plus the frilly neckpieces and wide shouldered
dresses. Also the shorter curlier hair styles and the glasses on
one of the young ladies point to this period.
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The severe hairstyle (probably pulled into
a bun) of the woman with the child and the softened edges point towards
the 1890s and this could have been taken to send to a soldier husband
abroad in one of Victoria’s many little wars.
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The tighter fit of the jacket in the final picture,
with a cravat beneath (note the pin) points towards a late 1870s possibly
very early 1880s. The buttonhole indicates a wedding. |
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