Description
A fantastic mid 19th century photo of a steel engraving depicting The Niagara Gorge and a train crossing the suspension bridge as people look on. Images such as these were sold as tourist items and often referred to as album fillers. Published by J.J. Reilly, with an advertisement for his business in stereopscope views, wholesale and retail, listing his address as Suspension Bridge N.Y.
4 x 2.5 inches
CDV is an acronym for Carte de visite, which is french for ‘card of my visit’. The term referenced the popularity and nature of the new almost magical art of photography which allowed people to share not only personal and family photographs but also ‘celebrity’, travel, exotic and local attractions and points of interest. The popularity of the format and its rapid uptake worldwide were due to their relative cheapness, which made portrait photographs more accessible to the general public. Using a negative, each individual carte print was made at a fraction of the cost of producing one full-plate daguerreotype, ambrotype or tintype picture and ten could be printed at once. With her husband Prince Albert, Queen Victoria amassed one of the most significant collections of early photography, she’s credited with being a major influence around the world in the popularity and ‘trading’ of CDVs.
