The Cabinet Card

The cabinet card was a style of photograph which was widely used for photographic portraiture after the Civil War. It consisted of a thin photograph mounted on a card, typically measuring ​4 1⁄4 by ​6 1⁄2 inches. It was large enough to be easily viewed from across the room when typically displayed on a cabinet, which is why they became known as such. The last cabinet cards were produced in the 1920s, even as late as 1924.