Cabinet Cards - Love Them!

Hope you had a fantabulous weekend! I've started cleaning out my craft room, preparing to have a yard sale on Saturday. Just too much 'stuff!' I know those of you who craft know exactly what I'm saying, lol! Before I jump back into that hot mess, thought I'd chat a bit about Cabinet Cards.

Cabinet cards were the most popular form of portraiture from the mid 1860's- through about the mid 1920's. They are relatively small formal portraits (roughly 4.25" x 6.5") which were displayed in cabinets for viewing.  They are produced, mounted on what we today would consider chipboard, usually with some type of small border around the top and sides, and a larger border area at the bottom where the name of the studio which produced the portrait would be placed. Some studios were very elaborate in how they presented their names, others were very simple, at least on the fronts of the cards. However, turn the card over and you're in for a surprise! On the backs of these cards, you will typically find wonderful artistry! Sometimes it's a fancy showing of the studio name and address. Other times, it's beautiful artwork, along with the studio information!

I have several of these cards, which were in an antique album I purchased at an estate sale. Most of the portraits themselves aren't very fancy, and I would consider most of them to be 'normal' people. Not a whole lot of what most would consider gorgeous or adorable in these photographs, but I love them! I wonder about who they are and what their lives were like. Some of the backs are nicer than the portraits themselves! A lot of the portraits are faded with embedded dust, but I'll be trying to clean them up some and darken them up to bring them back to life. Not too much processing - just enough to be able to see the images without the distraction of too much dust!

When you're out and about on your treasure hunts, if you come across cabinet cards, don't necessarily discount them because you don't like the portrait. Turn it over and you just might be surprised with something gorgeous on the back you'll be able to use!

Today's image is, guess what?! A cabinet card! I'm giving you the portrait itself, the back with the art and studio details, and two more with the studio details removed - original colors and black & white. By removing the studio details, you now have a lovely artistic frame to use in another way!

Enjoy, and thanks for stopping by! Hugs d.