They were not much larger than two by three inch calling cards yet they offered much more, a photograph. Basically the image was pasted on a piece of cardboard where it was small enough and durable enough to be passed around to friends and others.

In a relatively short time these personal portraits became quite fashionable and by the end of the American Civil War became the most popular form of photography in the world.

Historians credit French photographer Adolphe Eugene Disderi with mastering the first carte de visite as early as 1854. Disderi used a special camera with multiple lenses to capture several poses on just one negative. With the Disderi process several photographic images could be produced at the same time.

Suddenly the mere calling card was not enough in fashionable circles of Europe and America.

"The Yankee man of fashion," noted a leading magazine in the latter 1850s, "it is said does not descend to the prosaic plan of engraving his name on his visiting card, but fills his card case with photographs of himself, which he hands out himself."

In 1858 just as the fad was unfolding photographer Matthew Brady boldly set up shop in Washington, D.C. and when on to become one of the most famous professionals of that century. At Brady's National Photographic Art Gallery his stock and trade was the carte de visite.

Brady and other leading photographers had access to all the important people living in the nation at the time. Brady provided legendary CDVs of President Abraham Lincoln, vice president Andrew Johnson, and leading generals and members of the cabinet. Not only did Brady sell such photographs to the famous themselves, but he also offered the images for sale to the public.

At the other end of the scale were the professional photographers in every village and city of the United States were producing carte de visites of every member of the family from Uncle Jed to little cousin Molly. The photographs themselves were printed in multiples and then trimmed to fit the matching spans of cardboard. Most CDV s tended to be full-length poses of a subject standing or seated in a chair, however some were basically head and shoulders views. Such photographs were often taken on special occasions such as anniversaries, graduations, and weddings. Some of the more aggressive Professional photographers identified themselves with a simple line below the image, although most relied on the reverse of the CDV for a simple advertisement.

Since Victorians had access to both levels of CDVs the family photo album was typically filled with both the famous and the not so famous. Most families accumulated lots of them because they were fascinating and at about ten cents each were fairly inexpensive.

Albums which housed the numerous CDVs however were another matter. Such albums were designed to be displayed in the family parlor and often had brass clasps and locks. Many were bound in leather with decorative mother of pearl or inlaid wood coverings.

"Maintaining an album was expensive and a middle-class luxury," notes Louise Stevenson author of the very comprehensive volume The Victorian Homefront: American Thought & Culture 1860-1880. "The cost, including the price of an album and a sufficient number of cartes for exchange, could exceed $100."

Stevenson points out that some CDV albums could be elaborate, some were even combined with music boxes to play favorite such as Home Sweet Home. Most contained 20 to 50 blank pages with precut frames glued upon them. The cartes themselves could be inserted into the frames.

Tradition called for more immediate (and important) family members to occupy the center of the album, rather than in chronological order. Lesser relatives and celebrities were place in pages at the front or back.

During the Civil War officers on both sides frequently kept albums of CDV photographs. Often albums contained cartes of commanding generals and other officers of significant rank, along with comrades in arms. Some of the Civil War era albums even contained CDVs of scenes of battle or related sites. They could be similarly marked, rebel capital and its environs in Virginia, Slave Pens in Alexandria, Soldier's Grave at Bull Run, or ruins of Mrs. Henry's House.

"Each soldier's album might contain the same purchase cartes, but exchanges with friends and the arrangement of cartes made each album a personal creation," observes author Stevenson.

Federal officials used the Popularity of CDVs to help pay the debt of war from 1864 to 1866. Each photograph was accessed a sales tax-like amount of two to five cents depending on the retail price of each. The tax stamps therefore varied in amount, and correspondingly varied in color.

By the 1870s people were filling albums with CDVs to the point where excess numbers had to be stored elsewhere. Cartes de visite began recording all aspects of life from infancy to death. Photographers could be engaged to visit the family home, the workplace, or even the funeral parlor if necessary.

Meanwhile entire sets of CDVs could be purchased of famous people in additional to individual images. At the Centennial Exhibition of 1876 in Philadelphia such 'celebrity cards' were not only lavishly displayed but distributed to eager visitors on a massive scale.

As a general rule the cardboard used for the CDVs gradually became thicker in the latter years of the 19th century and the trimming became fancier. However manufacture varied from location to location and the apparent evolution was not universal.

In The past decade leading auction houses in the United States, including Swann Galleries, have made headlines with the sale of entire albums of CDVs filled with the image of historic figures. At one point Swann auctioned a sample book once used in the Washington office of photographer Matthew Brady. The book was a virtual catalog of more than 480 cartes of American and European notables including President Lincoln, Mrs. Lincoln, the Lincoln sons.

Naturally such album assemblies of famed photographers or of Civil War soldiers command premium prices when found still intact.

Unnamed and unidentified cartes are the most abundant types found today. Views higher regarded include unusual poses, figures in uniform, and children with toys or dolls. Even higher on the scale are cartes of Native Americans, African-Americans, those at work (occupations), and famous personalities. Especially prized are military battle scenes and historic events.

Astute collectors today sort carefully through existing CDV albums in search of legendary characters among the vast numbers of unknown relatives.

Recommended reading:  Collector's Guide to Early Photographs, 2nd edition, by O. Henry Mace (Krause Publications).