Photograph: Carte de visite of Charles and Eliza Nestel
Carte de visite of Charles and Eliza Nestel, often billed as Commodore Foote and the Faerie Queen. The two were siblings, and in this image,... Show moreCarte de visite of Charles and Eliza Nestel, often billed as Commodore Foote and the Faerie Queen. The two were siblings, and in this image, Charles stands on the left dressed in a suit, and Eliza is on the right, holding his arm. She wears a white dress with flowers stitched onto the middle and then cascading down to the hem. Cartes de visite are photographs, usually mounted on a paper card and measuring about 2.5 by 4 inches, popular from about 1850 to the 1870s. Individuals could collect the cartes de visite of various celebrities from different backgrounds including entertainment and politics, or sit for portraits themselves. In the case of performers whose claim to fame was related to their physical appearance or a developmental disability, the staging of cartes de visite helped to emphasize their differences. This was accomplished by consciously manipulating clothing, props, the backdrop, and all other elements of the photograph in order to draw attention to their particular traits. The question of who was responsible for the staging, be it photographer, manager, or performer, varied greatly. Measures 2.5 by 3.5 inches. No photographer is named. Circa 1860-1869 Show less