Towards the end of the 1900's when photography costs decreased, photographers became travelling salesmen and the elaborate fake backdrops were replaced by the great outdoors.

The most popular formats were cabinet cards, stereoviews, and postcards.

Cabinet cards were so named because the photos were mounted on thick cardboard paper which could stand on its own without a frame. The photographer's name is usually imprinted in big letters on the front of the card. An example is shown above.

STEREOVIEWS

A stereoview is a 3 x 7 inch card which has two identical side-by-side photos that are viewed through a stereoscope.  What is a stereoscope? It is an instrument with two side-by-side glass lenses that has a holder parallel to the lenses. The stereoview card is then placed in the holder and when the card is viewed through the lens, the two photos appear as one 3-D picture.

These photos were produced for commercial purposes and for the first time, the average person was able to afford photographs taken around the world. Personal photographs were rarely made into stereoviews. An example is shown on our Treats webpage.

POSTCARDS

In 1866, the post office invented a new product called postcards. Since writing was the main form of communication, professional portraits of yourself would be put on the flip side unlike the commercial images we use today. On our Home webpage is a postcard from the year 1910. The little girl with the poodle was orphaned and her new mother sent  postcards to let everyone know that she is now caring for the child.