Disdéri

RA Collection: People and Organisations

According to Gernsheim, Disdéri applied for a patent for carte de visite photographs in 1854 although it was an idea common to others at the time. In his application he describes taking ten photographs on one glass plate thereby greatly reducing the cost and time in producing each print. In 1854 he opened a studio in Paris and became the court photographer after a sitting by Napoleon III. The subsequent demand for cartes was such that he opened further studios including one in London in 1865.