Images and translated text from the Danish edition of “Fotofaszination – kameras, bilder, fotografen”
by Johan Willsberger.
The idea behind these immensely popular 6 x 9 cm photo cards was patented by Adolphe Disdéri in 1854. The popularity of the carte de visite didn’t only lead to people starting to give away photos of themselves, but even to making collecting photos of celebrities and other well-known people a new craze.
Up till 1910 making these carte de visites was the “staple work” of most photographers and it lead to the start of factory-based production of photographies. It was even produced cameras with 12 lenses that took 6 or 12 photographies at once.
Retrorambling 