C.W. Applegreen n.d. C.W. Applegreen creates a composite photograph for a CDV
Carte de visite Archives of Modern Conflict OR National Gallery of Canada This very instructive pair of CDVs graphically show how multiple or composite images were created in the small format of the CDV, 2 1/2" wide by 4" high. The photographer started with a blank board with the same proportions of a CDV, but much larger. The photographer then positioned the images to his satisfaction, finally glueing them to the board and then re-photographing the board to create a composite CDV. The first of these images shows the photographer, a Mr. C. W. Applegreen more than half way through setting the images on the board. In the detail, he has just finished the first four rows of images and has not yet assembled the fifth row. The second image shows the actual CDV that resulted from his labors. The close-up is a detail of his activity. In it, he shows his wet-plate sliding box camera on the table with some of his chemical bottles and a a scale to weigh the chemicals he will use in the process development and printing process. This solves the mystery of how so many quality images could be printed in such a small amount of space.