an unusual Display Box for Cabinet Cards – Robert Wilson
Toronto. From the earliest days of photography, a photographic portrait was a bit pricey for many. In the 1860s when albumen prints on CdVs came along, copies of a print became so cheap that photos could be shared. This introduced the Victorian pastime of the photo album, later collected by many. As the sales of CdVs fell off, larger size photos such as cabinet cards became the norm.
One elaborate means to display these remarkable photographs was the display box. The image at left is an unusual display box as described by Dr Wilson in his article An Unusual Cabinet Card Display Box which appears in issue 15-5 of our journal.
Bob’s article begins, “Nearly every home in the mid to late 19th century had an assortment of portraits of family and friends on display. These were usually mounted on cards inscribed with a credit for the photographer.
“The 2 1/2 by 4 inch carte-de-visite [CdV] was most popular in the early 1860’s. In 1867, the larger 4 1/2 by 6 1/2 inch cabinet card was introduced to improve sales as interest in the small cards was beginning to wane.
“These portraits were usually kept in photograph albums to be easily shared with visitors. Some of these were very plain, while others were quite ornate. At least one family stored their cabinet card portraits in the display box illustrated here.
“It is a wooden box with a plush yellow fabric covering. There are two glass windows on the top of the box through which you are able to see the portraits. When the box is turned upside down, two more portraits can be seen through two similar windows on the bottom.
“When the top of the box is unlocked and opened, you can see wooden frames which hold the cabinet cards. There are 23 of these frames which hold 46 portraits back to back, stacked in two piles side by side inside the box.”
Members could read the rest of the article -and all of volumes 1-40 – in pdf format on the free (to members) DVD. Not a member? Join today! See the menu item ‘MEMBERSHIP’ if you wish to send a cheque, or the buttons at right if you prefer to use a debit or credit card (or if you wish to use your personal PayPal account). Questions can be sent to our Membership Secretary, Lilianne Schneider at member@phsc.ca.
And if you collect photos or albums including display boxes, or any other photographic items, visit our events this fall. The next event is our fall fair on October 20th.
Note: While the post title is a Clifton Webb movie title, I thought a song from the Cowboy Junkies as sung by Margo Timmins would be appropriate, so here is ’cause cheap is how I feel.
