Portret van Thomas Carter

This is a mounted carte-de-visite depicting portraits of Thomas Carter and his wife. Cartes-de-visite were small paper photographs, usually mounted on thicker card. Patented in 1854, they gained immense popularity in the 1860s as a relatively inexpensive form of portraiture. The democratization of image-making changed social and visual culture. No longer was portraiture the exclusive domain of the wealthy. In this example, we see a professionally produced card, with decorative floral framing around each portrait. The formal poses are typical of the period, reflecting a desire to emulate the established traditions of painted portraiture. The presence of these portraits in a photograph album speaks to the growing importance of family and personal history, which developed alongside photography. To understand more, we might consult photographic journals and trade directories of the time. This would help us learn about the studios that produced these images, as well as studies of Victorian family and visual culture, which would illuminate the social role of these intimate objects.