Carte de visite
Encyclopedia
The carte de visite was a type of small photograph which was patented in Paris, France by photographer André Adolphe Eugène Disdéri in 1854, although first used by Louis Dodero
. It was usually made of an albumen print
, which was a thin paper photograph mounted on a thicker paper card. The size of a carte de visite is 2.125 in (54 mm) × 3.5 in (88.9 mm) mounted on a card sized 2.5 in (63.5 mm) × 4 in (101.6 mm). In 1854, Disdéri had also patented a method of taking eight separate negatives on a single plate, which reduced production costs. The Carte de Visite was slow to gain widespead use until 1859, when Disdéri published Emperor Napoleon III's photos in this format. This made the format an overnight success, and the new invention was so popular it was known as "cardomania" and eventually spread throughout the world.
Each photograph was the size of a visiting card
, and such photograph cards became enormously popular and were traded among friends and visitors. The immense popularity of these card photographs led to the publication and collection of photographs of prominent persons. "Cardomania" spread throughout Europe and then quickly to America. Albums for the collection and display of cards became a common fixture in Victorian parlors.
By the early 1870s, cartes de visite were supplanted by "cabinet card
s," which were also usually albumen prints, but larger, mounted on cardboard backs measuring 4.5 in (114.3 mm) by 6.5 in (165.1 mm). Cabinet cards remained popular into the early 20th century, when Kodak introduced the Brownie camera and home snapshot
photography became a mass phenomenon.
. Soldiers, friends and family members would have a means of inexpensively obtaining photographs and sending them to loved ones in small envelopes. Photos of Abraham Lincoln
, Ulysses S. Grant
, and other celebrities of the era became an instant hit with the public. People were not only buying photographs of themselves, but also photographs of celebrities.
Louis Dodero
Not much is known about Louis Dodero of Marseilles other than he is credited for inventing the Carte de visite. More often than not, this credit is erroneously given to André-Adolphe-Eugène Disdéri who popularised the use of this type of photograph mostly because of his good fortune to be in the...
. It was usually made of an albumen print
Albumen print
The albumen print, also called albumen silver print, was invented in 1850 by Louis Désiré Blanquart-Evrard, and was the first commercially exploitable method of producing a photographic print on a paper base from a negative...
, which was a thin paper photograph mounted on a thicker paper card. The size of a carte de visite is 2.125 in (54 mm) × 3.5 in (88.9 mm) mounted on a card sized 2.5 in (63.5 mm) × 4 in (101.6 mm). In 1854, Disdéri had also patented a method of taking eight separate negatives on a single plate, which reduced production costs. The Carte de Visite was slow to gain widespead use until 1859, when Disdéri published Emperor Napoleon III's photos in this format. This made the format an overnight success, and the new invention was so popular it was known as "cardomania" and eventually spread throughout the world.
Each photograph was the size of a visiting card
Visiting card
A visiting card, also known as a calling card, is a small paper card with one's name printed on it. They first appeared in China in the 15th century, and in Europe in the 17th century...
, and such photograph cards became enormously popular and were traded among friends and visitors. The immense popularity of these card photographs led to the publication and collection of photographs of prominent persons. "Cardomania" spread throughout Europe and then quickly to America. Albums for the collection and display of cards became a common fixture in Victorian parlors.
By the early 1870s, cartes de visite were supplanted by "cabinet card
Cabinet card
The Cabinet card was the style of photograph which was universally adopted for photographic portraiture in 1870. It consisted of a thin photograph that was generally mounted on cards measuring 4¼ by 6½ inches.-History:...
s," which were also usually albumen prints, but larger, mounted on cardboard backs measuring 4.5 in (114.3 mm) by 6.5 in (165.1 mm). Cabinet cards remained popular into the early 20th century, when Kodak introduced the Brownie camera and home snapshot
Snapshot (photography)
A snapshot is popularly defined as a photograph that is "shot" spontaneously and quickly, most often without artistic or journalistic intent. Snapshots are commonly considered to be technically "imperfect" or amateurish—out of focus or poorly framed or composed...
photography became a mass phenomenon.
The American Civil War
The carte de visite photograph proved to be a very popular item during the American Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. Soldiers, friends and family members would have a means of inexpensively obtaining photographs and sending them to loved ones in small envelopes. Photos of Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
, Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
, and other celebrities of the era became an instant hit with the public. People were not only buying photographs of themselves, but also photographs of celebrities.
External links
- Mathew Brady, Father of Photojournalism
- Portraits of Scientists: Increase Lapham's Cartes-de-visite Collection Collected by pioneering Wisconsin antiquarian Increase A. Lapham between 1862–75, this album of carte-de-visite photographic portraits depicts many notable 19th-century scientists from America and Europe. Available on Wisconsin Historical Images, the Wisconsin Historical Society's online image database.
- University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections – 19th Century Actors Photographs Cartes-de-visite studio portraits of entertainers, actors, singers, comedians and theater managers who were involved with or performed on the American stage in the mid-to-late 19th century.
- Gettysburg College Nineteenth Century Notables Digital Collection
- William Emerson Strong Photograph Album -- Duke University Libraries Digital Collections 200 cartes-de-visite depicting officers in the Confederate Army and Navy, officials in the Confederate government, famous Confederate wives, and other notable figures of the Confederacy. Also included are 64 photographs attributed to Matthew Brady.