This antique carte de visite photograph presents a finely composed Victorian-era portrait of a seated woman photographed by Hansen & Weller of Copenhagen, Denmark. The portrait shows a thoughtful, well-dressed woman seated in a studio setting, holding what appears to be a folded letter or packet of papers in her hands. She wears a dark fitted dress with a light collar and cuffs, a brooch or decorative fastening at the throat, and her hair is neatly arranged in the restrained style of the period. Her expression is serious and composed, with the quiet formality often seen in nineteenth-century portrait photography. One of the photographers of this cdv portrait is George Emil Hansen (1833-1891). He was a pioneer Danish photographer. His father and brother were also photographers. He won photography awards in London (1862) and Berlin (1865). Hansen was the photographer of the Danish Royal Family. His photographic work spanned from 1856 through 1891. The card likely dates from the 1870s or 1880s, based on the CDV format, the typography, the woman’s dress, and the style of the studio mount and backmark. This CDV shows age-appropriate wear. The mount has light edge and corner wear. The photographic image has surface marks visible near the upper right of the image area. The reverse is clean overall with a very nice decorative studio imprint. Overall, this is a pleasing Danish CDV with strong visual character and an attractive Copenhagen photographer’s backmark (see scans).
This carte de visite portrait is available for purchase at my store, The History Peddler, for $16.00 or best offer
Interested collectors may view the listing here:


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