The family in this collection of photographs is unknown. It is probable they lived in or around Nashville, Tennessee, as all of the photographers listed on the cartes de visite were located in that city at some point during the 1850s to the 1890s including: C.C. Giers; Thuss, Koellein & Giers (Otto Giers, son of C.C.); W.E. Armstrong; T.F. Saltsman; and Rodney Poole. One photograph includes a cancelled three-cent revenue stamp, dating it between August 1, 1864 and August 1, 1866.

Cartes de visite became fashionable in the 1860s and 1870s because of their convenience and low cost of production. The size of a calling card, these photographs were popular for trading and collecting, and many photographs of prominent and famous individuals were printed for the masses.

Tintypes, also known as ferrotypes, were popular for their quickness of development and cheapness of production; they were used by many traveling photographers and were still produced even after other forms of photography were introduced. Many of the tintypes in this collection were mounted in a frame or case at one time.

When tintypes were first introduced in 1853, daguerreotypes and ambrotypes were the main forms of photographs available. That year, Nashville only had two daguerreotype business listings. By 1890, over forty photographers were advertising their services. Both tintypes and cartes de visites were largely replaced when Kodak first introduced the Brownie camera in 1900.