Dating old photographs 1850
The cabinet card is similar to the smaller Dating a Cabinet Card: Details of a cabinet card, from the type of card stock to whether it had right-angled or rounded corners, can often help to determine the date of the photograph to within five years.It is important to note, however, that these dating methods aren't always accurate.The image produced lacks sharp detail, the soft focus being due to use of a paper negative.If you would like to learn more about the process, or even try it yourself, see the book Primitive Photography: A Guide to Making Cameras, Lenses, and Calotypes by Alan Greene.
Nativity scenes were featured on the very earliest Christmas cards.
Even this is not always an insurmountable problem however, if a collection of photos from one photographer are compared to images in county histories or previously identified images from the same area, it is sometimes possible to match them up.
SAMPLE CASE MOUNTED Daguerreotypes and Ambrotypes, and occasionally the earliest tintypes, were sold in cases, usually made of leather over a wood and cardboard framwork.
Cabinet cards, popular in the late 1800s, are easy to recognize because they are mounted on cardstock, often with an imprint of the photographer and location just below the photo.
There are similiar card-type photographs, such as the smaller which was introduced in the 1850s, but if your old photo is about 4x6 in size then chances are it is a cabinet card.
Panoramic photos were also often card mounted, though the size was not standardized.