The People of Gibraltar

1860 - Joseph Porral - Gibraltar Photographer - Carte de Visite

The “carte de visite” - CdV for short - was in effect a sort of calling card. It was patented in the mid 19th century by André Didéri. Physically a CdeV was usually a photograph taken of somebody posing in a studio the resulting small albumen print mounted on a card. The invention proved so popular that it became known as “cardomania”.

In Gibraltar, just about every known photographer was involved in the production of these. It was a good business for them as it involved the sale of multiple prints with the negatives usually kept for future use should the customer require further runs. The back of the card was usually used by the photographer to advertise his business.

“The negatives are kept for 3 years” - A particularly ornate design (Date unknown)

A variety of designs used over the years (Dates unknown)

The following is a small selection of those published by John Porral. I don't have any exact dates but they must have been created from the latish 19th to the very early 20th century.