Cartes de Visite or CDVs were small photographic calling cards cheaply produced by photographers in the 1860's and '70s by the hundreds of thousands. Usually the photo was a studio portrait but many examples exist of landscapes, buildings, and miscellaneous subject matter.

CDVs showing photographers with their cameras are exceedingly rare and ones with women and cameras rarer still. This gilt-edged, unidentified CDV is the only one in my collection. I'm very fond of it but have wondered whether it could be a reproduction or recreation. If anyone has any thoughts on this, I would love to hear them.

It's reproduced here slightly larger than the original which is the standard 2.5" x 4".