cartes de visites viewers

A pair of 1920s ‘Cartes de Visites’ viewers. The Carte de Visite was a type of small photograph pioneered by French photographer Andre Disderi in the 1850s. Each photograph - typically depicting prominent public figures - was the size of a visiting card and cards were frequiently traded among friends. The format continued to be popular well into the 20th Century, when inventions such as Kodak’s Box Brownie camera made home snapshot photography commonplace. The larger of these two examples measures 20cm (8”) x 13cm (5”) and has a 7cm (3” approx) lens; the smaller is 14cm (5.5”) x 8cm (3”) with a 4.5cm (1.75”) lens. NOT FOR SALE