Nineteenth Century Carte de Visite Album.

$1,200.00

Item Number: 136095

Rare late nineteenth century carte de visite album containing dozens of original portraits of prominent members of the Griffith family of New York and several contemporary celebrities including Henry Ward Beecher, Washington Irving, and General Winfield Hancock. Quarto, original full leather richly decorated in gilt with inner dentelles, silk watered endleaves, gilt decorations and ruling to each album page which contains one or four original carte de visite portraits, all edges gilt, metal clasp. In very good condition. A captivating collection of nineteenth century American portraits.

The carte de visite photograph proved to be a very popular item during the American Civil War. Soldiers, friends and family members would have a means of inexpensively obtaining photographs and sending them to loved ones in small envelopes. Photos of Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, and other celebrities of the era became instant hits in the North. People were not only buying photographs of themselves, but also collecting photographs of celebrities.