Souvenir Saturday: Carte de Visite ca 1875

Carte de Visite: young lady with bustle ca 1875



 A carte de visite was a small photographic portrait of a person, mounted on a piece of card. By the 1860s, entrepreneurs were mass-producing cartes de visite - small photographic prints that originated as calling cards - of well-known figures.

The 'ancestor' you may find among your cartes de visite may not be an ancestor at all but an important well-known figure of his time, such as a Prime Minister. Such cartes were collected and put into albums.

Costume of the settler era in Natal

Bonnets of the 1850s - what our female Natal ancestors wore.

This is probably a tintype: a tintype, also known as a melainotype or ferrotype. This is a photograph made by creating a direct positive on a thin sheet of metal coated with a dark lacquer or enamel and used as the support for the photographic emulsion. Tintypes enjoyed their widest use during the 1860s and 1870s, but lesser use of the medium persisted into the early 20th century and it has been revived as a novelty in the 21st.

Tintype portraits were at first usually made in a formal photographic studio, like daguerreotypes and other early types of photographs, but later they were most commonly made by photographers working in booths or the open air at fairs and carnivals, as well as by itinerant sidewalk photographers. Because the lacquered iron support (there is no actual tin used) was resilient and did not need drying, a tintype could be developed and fixed and handed to the customer only a few minutes after the picture had been taken.

Although prints on paper soon displaced them as the most common type of photograph, the tintype process continued to enjoy considerable use throughout the 19th century and beyond, especially for casual portraiture by novelty and street photographers. In South Africa, travelling photographers to be found producing tintypes in mining camps and other temporary 'towns', carrying all the necessary equipment in a wheeled cart - a portable 'studio'.

Costume in Natal: 1880s

A mature lady of the mid-1880s manages to maintain her benign appearance despite her uncomfortable apparel. In this photo it’s the undergarments which draw our attention.

The line of her corset is clearly visible, pushing up the front of her bodice: at this date the corset would be long (similar in shape to the pointed bodice front) and its lower edge could be attached to a petticoat. Beneath her tightly-fitting bodice sleeves the edge of her camisole sleeves can be seen. Her bustled outfit is lavishly trimmed, tucked and pleated. Her indoor morning cap, probably of muslin with lace edging, is reminiscent of those worn by Queen Victoria in photographs taken during this era.

At this date, South African fashion lagged about two years behind European trends.

Fashion plates shown in publications such as the Young Ladies’ Journal would be anxiously perused in Natal, and local dressmakers would do their best to copy the styles chosen by their customers. Unfortunately, not every lady resembled the willowy figures shown in the magazine engravings. Plus ca change ...

Costume in Natal: 1870s

By the 1870s, photographers favoured padded chairs for their subjects to lean on, and a three-quarter view of the figure. This is a typical example.

The lady's hair, plainly centre-parted in front, is piled up on the top of her head in a thick plait, presumably - though not necessarily - her own. As the decade advanced, hairstyles became far more elaborate, especially at the back, waves, ringlets and curls being encouraged by overnight plaiting or by curl papers and curling tongs.

The emphasis of the skirt was all at the back, too, becoming larger and fuller as the bustle developed and the front and sides taking on a smoother appearance. Tapes fixed to the side-seams of the skirt were tied round the back underneath the projecting bustle.

The bodice for day wear was high-necked, with fussy trimming at neck and wrist.

In South Africa the change to the bustle took longer than it did in Europe: there was still a slight time lag in fashion though by the 1890s, with improved communications, this gradually became less noticeable.