Cartes-de-visite
Photography was invented in 1839, but only in the 1850s did an overwhelming demand for photographic portraits spur the invention of the carte-de-visite. This small (approximately 4 x 2½ in.) photograph takes its name from the French term for calling card. Many have claimed to have invented the carte-de-visite photograph, but it was Napoleon III's court photographer, Andre A. E. Disderi (1819-1890), who took out a patent in November of 1854 and was subsequently credited with its invention. The carte-de-visite was introduced in England in 1857 by the London branch of the French photography studio A. Marion and Company. Its popularity was almost instantaneous. Technical advances in photography and its increasing availability made it a novelty almost anyone could afford. The carte-de-visite appealed to aristocrats as well as the middle and lower classes. In the 1860s the fad, dubbed "cartomania," was at its peak: everyone collected the cartes of royalty, celebrities, war heroes, friends and families members, the result being the carte-de-visite album.
The carte-de-visite was important in the democratization of military portraiture. As these military cartes show, both dukes and soldiers of the ranks posed for the carte photographer, and might well be photographed against the same backdrop. Military cartes-de-visite were taken outside the studio as well, with the "realistic" backdrop of cannons and damp sites appropriate for the military sitter.
Only seven of the photographers of these ten cartes are known. The studios of Elliot and Fry, Hills and Saunders, London Stereoscopic Company and Maull and Company were larger and better known than those of John Chancellor, Groom and Company and I.H. Blomfield. The lesser-known studios should not be considered as inferior, but instead acknowledged for their representation of the smaller, less noted photographers and of the anonymous soldiers who patronized them. The studio name was usually printed either on the back of the mount or at the bottom, underneath the photograph. Because cartes were mass produced, however, the studio name was not always included, as is seen from the three anonymous ones here. With the exception of the few cartes on which the sitter's name is written, the rest of the sitters remain anonymous.
Cantinière carte-de-visites
A traditional part of the French Army, cantinières were attached to battalions of the French army and wore a soldier's uniform, as represented in these carte-de-visites. While they would be primarily in charge of carrying food and drink to soldiers, they would also participate in some assaults or battles such as those of the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871). Despite the horrific defeat of the French by the Germans in this war, the city of Paris refused to surrender to German occupation of the capital. Although the newly elected French National Assembly, under the direction of Adolphe Thiers, accepted a peace agreement with Prussia and negotiated terms of surrender in March of 1871, the city of Paris refused submission to Thiers and the Germans, and opted instead to elect a municipal council known as the Commune of Paris.
Officially established on March 18th and comprised mainly of members of the working class, the Commune was considered to be a socialist government formed by and for the people, and represented an attempt for Parisians to rewrite laws and reclaim power from the bottom. Shortly after establishing itself, the Commune passed laws that lowered rent, granted freedom of the press, separated church and state, and improved general working conditions for Parisian citizens. The Commune's socialist approach depended on representation of the city as a whole, including women. Women played an active role in participating in various committees and serving as soldiers in battles against the Versailles government. One club, known as the "Union des femmes pour la défense de Paris et les soins aux blessés," founded by Marx's friend Elizabeth Dmitrieff, was an especially active association of women who helped to aid wounded communards. The cantinières were affiliated with this group, and were responsible for providing food and drink to the National Guard of the Commune. They were known to carry coffee or brandy in their casks and were often observed marching and fighting with their battalion.
