André-Adolphe-Eugène Disdéri Antonio María del Valle Serrano 1860 albumen print carte de visite Museo Cerralbo, Madrid |
André-Adolphe-Eugène Disdéri Jules Armand, duc de Polignac ca. 1858-59 albumen print cartes de visite Museum of Fine Arts, Houston |
"Considered the father of commercial portrait photography, A.A. Disdéri changed the face of photography when he patented the carte de visite process in 1854. He opened his first studio in 1849 in Brest, after prior careers as a painter, lingerie maker, and accountant. In 1852 he began studying the wet collodion process which led to his patent of cartes de visite, and by 1854 he had opened the largest portrait studio in Paris. His second studio, specializing in equestrian portraits, opened in 1861, the same year he was reputed to be "the richest photographer in the world." In 1868 a studio branch opened in England. Disdéri became a favorite portraitist among the courts of France, England, and Spain, particularly after he was rumored to have made a carte portrait of Napoleon III. Wealth gained from his carte de visite business, however, did not keep Disdéri from experiencing financial collapse. He died in Paris, in 1889, blind, deaf, and destitute."
– curator's notes from the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Oscar Gustave Rejlander Girl with Dove ca. 1860-70 albumen print George Eastman House, Rochester NY |
W. & D. Downey, Photographers Sarah Bernhardt in Francesca da Rimini 1902 albumen print Jewish Museum, New York |
Adolphe Braun Falls of the Reichenbach 1860 albumen print Museum of Fine Arts, Houston |
Adolphe Braun Floral Still-life ca. 1852-62 albumen print George Eastman House, Rochester NY |
Félix Nadar Portrait of Honoré Daumier before 1879 albumen silver print Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
Felice Beato Portrait of a Coolie, Japan 1866-67 hand-colored albumen silver print Getty Museum, Los Angeles |
Gustave Le Gray Seascape Cloud Study 1856-57 albumen print Musée d'Orsay, Paris |
Eugène Atget Luxembourg Gardens, Paris 1902-03 albumen silver print Getty Museum, Los Angeles |
Eugène Atget Saint Cloud 1926 albumen silver print Getty Museum, Los Angeles |
Eugène Atget Pollard willows in winter ca. 1921-22 albumen silver print Getty Museum, Los Angeles |
Eugène Atget Old Convent, Avenue de l'Observatoire, Paris 1923 albumen silver print Getty Museum, Los Angeles |
Eugène Atget The Old Château, Sceaux 1923 albumen silver print Getty Museum, Los Angeles |