Woodhull and Claflin c.d.v.'s

The carte de visite, a small albumin print attached to a 2 1/2" x 4" mount, was imported from France to America in 1859, where it gained quick acceptance, particularly during the Civil War when family members were eager to have a photographic record of a son going off to war. They soon became a staple of the family photograph album. Merchants also sold c.d.v.'s of famous personalities, including Woodhiull and Claflin pictured here. Often these merchants/photographers would take images done by another photographer and pass them off as their own, modifying the picture somewhat to avoid legal difficulties. That these two cartes are not products of the original photographer can be seen by the fact that the images are blurred, pointing to retouching of the original image, and because there is no photographer's name and logo appearing on the rear of the mount.