Pence, Mr. & Mrs., Carte de Visites A Guide to Mr. & Mrs. O. S. Pence Carte de Visites, c.1861-1865 Ms.2011.034 A Collection in Special Collection

A Guide to Mr. & Mrs. O. S. Pence Carte de Visites, c.1861-1865 Ms.2011.034

A Collection in Special Collection


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Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech

Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries (0434)
560 Drillfield Drive
Newman Library, Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, Virginia 24061
Business Number: 540-231-6308
specref@vt.edu
URL: http://spec.lib.vt.edu

Sarah R. Olney

Repository
Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech
Identification
Ms.2011.034
Title
Mr. & Mrs. O. S. Pence Carte de Visites, c.1861-1865
Quantity
0.1 Cubic Feet, 1 folder
Creator
Rees, Charles R. (Photographer)
Language
English .
Abstract
The collection includes two carte-de-visites of Mr. & Mrs. O. S. Pence, taken at Rees studio in Richmond, Virginia, c.1861-1865. Each is posed beside photographer's stock background and chair.

Administrative Information

Use Restrictions

Permission to publish material from Mr. & Mrs. O. S. Pence Carte de Visites must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.

Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Mr. & Mrs. O. S. Pence Carte de Visites, Ms2011-034, Special Collections, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va.

Acquisition Information

The Mr. & Mrs. O. S. Pence Carte de Visites were purchased by Special Collections in 2011.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Mr. & Mrs. O. S. Pence Carte de Visites was completed in March 2011.


Historical Note

The carte de visite or CDV (also carte-de-visite or sometimes erroneously referred to as carte de ville) was a type of small photograph which was patented in Paris, France by photographer André Adolphe Eugène Disdéri in 1854, although first used by Louis Dodero. The Carte de Visite was slow to gain widespead use until 1859, when Disdéri published Emperor Napoleon III's photos in this format. This made the format an overnight success, and the new invention was so popular it was known as "cardomania" and eventually spread throughout the world.

Each photograph was the size of a visiting card, and such photograph cards were traded among friends and visitors. The immense popularity of these card photographs led to the publication and collection of photographs of prominent persons. "Cardomania" spread throughout Europe and then quickly to America. Albums for the collection and display of cards became a common fixture in Victorian parlors.

By the early 1870s, cartes de visite were supplanted by "cabinet cards," which were also usually albumen prints, but larger, mounted on cardboard backs measuring 4½ by 6½ inches. Cabinet cards remained popular into the early 20th century, when Kodak introduced the Brownie camera and home snapshot photography became a mass phenomenon.

Scope and Content Note

The collection includes two carte-de-visites of Mr. & Mrs. O. S. Pence, taken at Rees studio in Richmond, Virginia, c.1861-1865. Each is posed beside photographer's stock background and chair.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

  • Civil War
  • Local/Regional History and Appalachian South
  • Pence, O. S.
  • Pence, O. S., Mrs.
  • United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865

Significant Persons Associated With the Collection

  • Pence, O. S.
  • Pence, O. S., Mrs.
  • Rees, Charles R. (Photographer)

Container List

folder 1
Carte de visites