The idea to print photographic portraits on business cards was patented in Paris in 1854. When even Napoleon III (1808-1873) started circulating such cartes de visite of himself and his family, a “business card epidemic” began. Photography studios across Europe specialised in these handy small formats. In 1857, when Göttingen had 10,000 inhabitants, there were five studios that manufactured these cartes de visite. The age of photography had begun for the portrait genre.
A MEDIUM FOR THE BOURGEOISIE
Standardised manufacturing and formats made the cartes de visite affordable, even for the general population. For the bourgeoisie in particular, they became a convenient medium to highlight their growing self-confidence. Draperies, pillars and luxurious furnishings provided a suitable ambience in the photo studios, tied in with motifs from portraits of rulers, but also staged the upscale bourgeois living culture. Ideal aspirations and material possessions inscribed themselves in the bourgeois self-portrayal.
THE SCIENTIST AS A CITIZEN
Photographic business cards also put scholars in a new light. The professor as member of an academic community dedicated to the preservation and transmission of tradition was replaced by the figure of the individual researcher. Common virtues such as achievement, work and discipline replaced robes and academic insignia. Suit and attitude turned the scholar into a citizen.