Golden Oak Online Auctions LLC

Auction 73

Lot 401

U.S., 1850's to ca. 1910, a collection of cartes de visite. 39 different small photographs on cards which proved to be a very popular item during the American Civil War. Soldiers, friends and family members would have a means of inexpensively obtaining photographs and sending them to loved ones in small envelopes; additionally, photos of Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, and other celebrities of the era became an instant hit in the North, people were not only buying photographs of themselves, but also collecting photographs of celebrities.
Estimate $100 - 150

These small photographs were patented in Paris by photographer André Adolphe Eugène Disdéri in 1854, although first used by Louis Dodero. They were 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 54.0 mm (2.125 in) x 89 mm (3.5 in) mounted on a card sized 64 mm (2.5 in) x 100 mm (4 in). 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 widespread use until 1859, when Disdéri published Emperor Napoleon III's photos in this format. This made the format an overnight success. The new invention was so popular it was known as "cardomania" and it spread throughout Europe and then quickly to America and the rest of the world.Each photograph was the size of a visiting card, and such photograph cards were traded among friends and visitors. Albums for the collection and display of cards became a common fixture in Victorian parlors. The immense popularity of these card photographs led to the publication and collection of photographs of prominent persons.

Realized $90

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