Greetings from Dutch Country
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famous carte is his 1860 Cooper Union Portrait9 of Abraham Lincoln. Crediting
Brady, Lincoln himself commented that the flattering portrait, which was widely
reproduced, helped him win his bid for the presidency.
The tradition of the travel photograph expanded with the carte-de-visite
format—a compact, portable means of exchanging information. As a practical
calling card to present during social visits, the carte often featured written text,
including the photographer’s title and the address of his business. On the back or
below or the image, many collectors would write their own comments: the
historical antecedent to the current behavior of scribbling a personal note on a
card before mailing it.
After 1866, the public’s interest in the carte-de-visite declined when a larger
“Cabinet” card format enticed consumers of portrait photographs. By 1868, the
cabinet card photograph (which was closer in size to the modem day postcard)
became popular; by 1885, it had claimed most of the market of the earlier cartede-visites.
From the 1850s through the early 20,h century, stereographic photography10
soon became a popular parlor entertainment that “helped turn photography into