Napoléon Coste 1859

André-Adolphe-Eugène Disdéri created this paper photograph of Napoléon Coste using the carte-de-visite format. A calling card, really; a mass-produced item that democratized portraiture in the mid-19th century. In this albumen print, we see Coste in eight different poses, a sequence made possible through Disdéri’s innovative multi-lens camera. Imagine the labor involved: posing Coste, developing the glass negatives, printing onto albumen paper – itself a complex chemical process involving egg whites – cutting, and mounting. The carte-de-visite reflects an emerging culture of celebrity, and a burgeoning market for images. Disdéri, a savvy businessman, understood this perfectly, establishing a photographic empire. What was once a unique, hand-rendered likeness became a repeatable commodity, feeding into the cycles of industrial production and consumption that defined the era. This challenges our traditional understanding of art, positioning photography not just as an aesthetic pursuit but as a reflection of broader social and economic shifts.