Mass Media and Social Networking in the 19th Century, Essay Example

The photograph I chose is from a subset of the genre of portraiture that was quite popular in the 1860s, when it was produced: the carte-de-visite. This photograph is a carte-de-visite of Captain Jacob M. Rife of the 7^th West Virginia Cavalry, from the American Civil War. Cartes-de-visite were the creation of French photographer Andre Adolphe Eugene Disderi (1819-1889), who invented them in 1854 (Marien 84). The mid-19^th century was a time of rapid innovation in photography, with portraiture beginning to come into its own as a significant genre. Both the paper negative and collodion methods were quite common, frequently being practiced by the same photographers (Bajac 100-103). Also, by the 1860s, photographers were starting to win the debate about photography being an art form, and this had ramifications for the carte-de-visite: carte-de-visite photographers billed themselves as artists, and many have backplates that feature “the photographer’s name and address within an outline of an artist’s palette and brushes to emphasize the link” (Bajac 102-105, Wichard and Wichard 21).

The goal of portrait photography, including the carte-de-visite, was the same as that of portrait painting: a favorable depiction of the sitter, one that made them look as good as possible (Wichard and Wichard 21). There was also a strong idea that a portrait photograph, like a portrait painting, should depict something of the person’s character, something of who they were (21-22). This can be clearly seen in the picture of Captain Jacob M. Rife: he appears handsome and confident, smartly attired in his uniform.

Cartes-de-visite, however, differed from more formal portraiture in that they were intended to be small pictures, designed for pasting to the back of a 4 by 2½ inch visiting card (Marien 84). Cartes-de-visite were taken with a special camera designed for the purpose, a camera that could accommodate as many as eight different images on a single photographic plate (84-85). Cheap and efficient, cartes-de-visite were highly successful and spread very rapidly. Another reason is that it was quite common to take full-length or bust-length shots with cartes-de-visite, the latter being the case here. Since these pictures were not facial close-ups, it was less of a priority to get exact lighting and do a great deal of retouching (85).

Cartes-de-visite were extremely popular from about 1858 on through the 1860s, with such famous figures as Emperor Napoleon III of France and President Abraham Lincoln of the United States readily posing for cartes-de-visite to satisfy a tremendous public appetite for their likenesses (Hannavy 276, Marien 85). In addition to their cheapness and ready availability, cartes-de-visite as a format were very easy to collect, so it was common for individuals to give them to friends and family members. In an age when photography was still very new, and cheap, readily available pictures were very, very new, it is easy to see how cartes-de-visite would have been perceived as a revolutionary new thing, a type of media that would have leant itself to ready popularity (Marien 276-277).

As a case in point, the carte-de-visit of Captain Rife is inscribed “Your Friend, J. M. Rife.” Part of the appeal was precisely that, like Facebook or Instagram today, anyone could participate in sharing their image with their associates. Indeed, cartes-de-visite were perfect for collecting and then sharing with others, making for good sources of conversation and gossip (Marien 276-277). Thus, presumably Captain Rife gave this particular photograph to a friend. Presumably whoever he gave the photograph to was someone important to him: a good friend, possibly a friend in the 7^th West Virginia Cavalry. This was during the American Civil War, after all, a time when photography was being used to document the war itself and the men who were fighting it (Bajac 76-79). As such, Captain Rife was participating in a widespread cultural trend, one that promoted the mass dissemination of personal images for the purposes of collection, mementos, and conversation.

Works Cited

Bajac, Quentin. The Invention of Photography. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2002. Print.

Hannavy, John, ed. Encyclopedia of Nineteenth-century Photography. New York: Routledge, 2008. Print.

Marien, Mary W. Photography: A Cultural History. 2^nd ed. London: Laurence King Publishing, Ltd., 2006. Print.

Wichard, Robin, and Carol Wichard. Victorian Cartes-de-visite. Buckinghamshire, UK: Shire Publications, 1999. Print.