Carte-de-visite

The carte-de-visite (CDV) was one of the most popular used photographic formats of the 19th century. It consisted of a small portrait photograph, typically about 6 x 9 cm, mounted on a slightly larger piece of cardboard. The name derives from its resemblance in size and format to a visiting card. The carte-de-visite was first patented in 1854 by the French photographer André Adolphe Eugène Disdéri.

The popularity of the carte-de-visite was one of the reasons the stereoscopy craze came to an end, as the new carte-de-visite triggered a new collecting craze.