The Visitors
Review by Jayne Curtis
Cartomania! Think our generation invented the never-ending hunger for social media? Think again…
We were very excited at Wylde to receive a preview copy of sometime contributor Paul Frecker's book Cartomania (September Publishing). This is the definitive book about the cartes de visite phenomenon which took Victorian England by storm at the beginning of the 1860s and quickly became the dominant medium of visual culture for the following decade.
For those who don't know, cartes de visite were small photographs which were mounted onto card and swapped, sold and catalogued in albums with a fervour bordering on mania. In size, not much smaller than an iPhone, and the comparison is deliberate; much as we scroll today through pictures of friends, celebrities, the newsworthy and notorious on our social media feeds via our phones, the Victorians had cartes de visite for this purpose.
This book is lavishly illustrated with incredible examples of the genre, from royalty and celebrity through to the subversive courtesans of the day. We particularly enjoyed the mentions of sub-genres such as 'hidden mothers' and of cross-dressing icons Fanny & Stella. It's a fascinating and exhaustive study, Frecker is an expert in the field and combines the factual and historical with much wry humour and clearly relishes relaying his knowledge as well as the most sensational stories of the day.
If one were in any doubt, it is clear that the cult of celebrity is not a modern phenomenon!
