Cartes-de-visite

One of my vices (a victimless one, I think) is collecting carte-de-visite photographs. Perhaps the word collecting is too puffed up — it implies more rigour and focus than I apply. Anyway, I sometimes wander into junk shops and rummage among the old photos. If a particular subject, a pose, or a photographer’s insignia attract me, I might spend a dollar or two.

Every picture prompts a question. When this old bloke visited Mathewson & Co’s studio in Queen Street, Brisbane, was he offered a choice of props? Did he ask for the ensemble of rustic chair and stuffed birds, or was that the photographer’s idea? Roll your mouse pointer over the picture to see the back of the card. Click it to see a larger version.

Cartes-de-visite are delightful objects, imbued with magic and stories. I gathered more than a few of them on my desk, where they stopped being some, and turned into a collection of small multiples. They begged to be compared, sorted and categorized.

When I looked at this array it seemed I had the subject for an online exhibition: a collection of Queensland cartes-de-visite, sorted by photographer, displaying both front and back. I also wanted to show the backmarks at higher resolution, to reveal the quirks of their design. Movable Type seemed to be the tool for the job and, with a bit of fiddling, it has turned out well. At the moment there are 39 examples, and I will add more when I have time.

The photographers in this collection

The work of each photographer or studio is in a separate gallery — the number of examples is shown after the photographer’s name in this list:

A & W M Gedge  1
Albert Lomer  5
Albert Lomer & Co  1
Biggingee Sorabjee Pochee  1
C E Bevan  1
D F Metcalfe  1
Daniel Marquis  2
F A Whitehead  3
George Billingham  1
Henry Goode  1
J B Lucas  1
J Deazeley  1
J Hansen Lundager  1
J Watson  4
Louis Buderus  2
Martin Roggenkamp  1
Mathewson  1
Mathewson & Co  5
McClelland & Goode  1
Metcalfe & Glaister  2
Poul C Poulsen  2
Tuttle & Co  1

I am interested in expanding my collection of Queensland cartes-de-visite (and particularly keen to add examples of the work of my ancestor Daniel Marquis, whose studio was at 82 George Street, Brisbane, from 1866 to 1880). Please let me know if you can help.