Monsieur Merlen
Medium
albumen print from wet collodion negative, uncut carte-de-visite proof print
Dimensions
image: 19.9 × 23.1 cm · matted: 35.6 × 45.7 cm
Classification
Photograph
Department
Photography
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Paula and Robert Hershkowitz in memory of Sam Wagstaff
Accession Number
1995.179
Tags
About this artwork
A small photograph mounted on card stock, called a carte-de-visite, was patented by Disdéri in 1854. Used for images of both ordinary and famous people, it gave birth to the craze of collecting celebrity portraits. By 1862 Disdéri had 90 employees producing over 2,000 prints a day, making him reputedly the world’s richest photographer. In contrast with the daguerreotype medallion portrait, carte-de-visite prints were economical and inexpensive. A camera with four lenses and a sliding plate holde...