In 1854 A. A. E. Disdéri patented a method of mass production
that made photographic portraits both abundant and affordable — the carte
de visite. Using a camera with four lenses and a sliding back, a
photographer could expose eight portraits on a single glass-plate negative,
develop all eight in a single operation, print them on a sheet of albumen
paper, and then cut and glue the individual images onto

mounts the size of a visiting-card. This method made it
easy to exchange portraits with friends and family and to collect pictures of
notable public figures. In this rare uncut sheet from Disdéri’s studio, one has
to wonder who would have received the Duc de Polignac’s less formal images.