Antique Victorian Leather Photo Album 36 Cabinet Cards c1885 1895

Antique Victorian Leather Photo Album with 36 Cabinet Card Photographs Date Made: Circa 1885–1895 Size: 7.5 inches wide x 8 inches tall x 2 inches thick

A beautiful and deeply timeworn late 19th century leather bound Victorian photograph album filled with 36 original cabinet card portraits. This is an authentic family album from the late 1800s with embossed leather covers, brass clasp hardware, thick album pages, and multiple studio advertising pages tucked throughout the book.

This is the kind of piece that works beautifully as a display object in a primitive, early American, Victorian, or old home interior, but it also has genuine appeal for collectors of antique photography, ephemera, genealogy, and regional history.

What makes this one especially interesting is the regional history. The album includes photographer and studio ads from Brookville, Indiana and Lebanon, Ohio, including: Townsend’s Art Gallery, Brookville, Ind. T. W. Cowey, Brookville, Ind. P. F. Finch, Lebanon, O.

The leather binding is original and has the rich worn surface only true age creates. The album is filled with sepia portraits of men and women from the Victorian era, along with decorative interior pages and studio imprint pages that add to the historical interest.

Condition: This album is antique and fragile and needs to be handled gently.

This is not a pristine album. It is an honest, well-aged, late 1800s piece with visible wear and fragile pages, and that condition should be expected and appreciated as part of its history. Because of that, it is best for careful display and gentle occasional viewing rather than frequent handling.

Learn more: Read our guide to decorating with primitive farmhouse antiques.