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25 Mar 2020

Cartomania: the portrayal of women in carte de visites

Written by Audrey Rose Mizzi - Morton Project Documentation and Digitsation Intern
A page of a photo album, with a small gold monogram in the centre and the date, 1861.
The monogram of Elizabeth Brodie, Duchess of Gordon, is emblazoned on the inside cover of this photo album
During the ‘cartomania’ phenomenon, many middle-class women took up the hobby of compiling carte de visites of their family and friends. An album from 1860, compiled by Elizabeth Brodie, whose uncle James was 21st Chief of Clan Brodie, attests to this craze that took the photographic world by storm. Naming all the people in this album, Elizabeth leaves us a record of those photographed. In keeping with women’s history month, here are some of the women who caught our eye ...
A framed black and white photo showing Prince Albert sitting on a chair and Queen Victoria standing with her hand on his shoulder. A framed black and white photo with a lady in fancy Victorian dressing sitting sideways to the camera with a small white dog on her lap. A framed black and white photo with a Victorian lady in a dark dress, with a girl in a white dress to her right and a small boy in dark clothing to her left. A framed black and white photo of a lady in Victorian dress and white cap standing in a doorway with her hands folded and holding a book. A black and white framed photo of a lady in a dark Victorian dress with a backdrop of a full-length painting of an outdoor scene with a castle in the distance.. A black and white photo of a lady in Victorian dress standing next to a chest of drawers with a plant on it. A black and white photo of a small child in a white dress standing on a chair next to a table with a plant in a pot on it.

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