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CDV Portrait with Dressing Instructions. Probably 1870s.

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    Posted 2 years ago

    rniederman
    (346 items)

    Posted here is a fair-to-poor quality CDV by a photographer based in Owatanna, Minnesota. The image is undated but could be 1870s. And technically it’s not very good: The exposure and contrast range are mediocre. So … why am I posting this? After all, I have much better images in my collection.

    What’s important is printed on the back of the CDV. Unlike photographers that usually added pithy graphics on the backside of their CDVs and cabinet cards, this is the only CDV I’ve owned instructing potential customers how to dress for pictures. It is because early photographic chemistry did not render colors correctly and clothing could look odd.

    Early chemistry was sensitive to higher spectrum colors such as blue. This meant that blues ended up white in prints and tintypes. Reds, on the other hand, appeared nearly black in pictures. This is also why many early landscapes show blank skies because blues washed out. Photographers figured out retouching methods to reproduce clouds, but in studios it was difficult and not economical to retouch clothing.

    I don’t have background information on Will Thomas, but it was a clever idea to add information about how to dress.

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    Comments

    1. scottvez scottvez, 2 years ago
      Nice! Like this type of image— hiding a prize on the back!

      Langdonroad has this photographer listed in this town in 1878- 9 with a source of a MN Business Directory.

      scott
    2. rniederman rniederman, 2 years ago
      Thanks for the info, Scott!
    3. rniederman rniederman, 2 years ago
      Thanks!
      kwqd
      Cisum
      Vynil33rpm
      vetraio50
    4. rniederman rniederman, 2 years ago
      Thanks!
      Daisy1000
      f64imager
      Manikin
      ttomtuckert
      BB2
      Watchsearcher
      dav2no1
      fortapache
    5. rniederman rniederman, 2 years ago
      Thanks!
      farmlady
      egreeley1976
      AntigueToys
      MooreAntique
      snowman3
      Michael
      usedcarlady
      leighannrn
      Chevelleman69
      chrissylovescats
      Lady_Picker
      vintagegirl66
    6. rniederman rniederman, 2 years ago
      Thanks, Designer!
    7. rniederman rniederman, 2 years ago
      Thanks!
      Beachbum58
      Daddy_Nobucks
    8. rniederman rniederman, 2 years ago
      Thanks, farmlady!
    9. rniederman rniederman, 2 years ago
      Thanks, Sean!

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