1089
a recurring motif. As a whole, however, the private cult
of photographs was only the most visible aspect of a
very general tendency of 19th-century culture to treat
photographs as objects.
The case of paper prints obtained by the various
negative-positive processes deserves special attention,
because they were the most common kind of photo-
graphs after 1855, and because they would naturally
seem to function more as images and less as objects.
They too were nonetheless subject to the logic of ob-
jectifi cation, partly because, like daguerreotypes, they
remained rare and precious possessions, but partly also
because they seemed almost too immaterial to function
culturally without some sort of “hard” environment.
First of all, fi nished prints of any quality were rarely
left unmounted. As if a paper photograph had been
too thin or too fragile an object to exist on its own, it
was systematically mounted, usually on cardboard, but
sometimes on wood or glass. The typical professional
mount was not just a material base, but also functioned
as a marker, serving to integrate the pictures in social
and cultural networks. Very often mounts included the
name and location of the studio or of the organization
the photographer belonged to, as well as some decorative
lining or frieze along the edges of the picture, while the
back might present more information about the studio,
quippings from the press, or advertisements for other
businesses; in the case of commercial or archival views,
captions and information about places would also be
included. Large, deluxe, or specially signifi cant prints
would be framed and displayed, like daguerreotypes,
while the more common photographs were kept in boxes
and, of course, albums, which were sold by many spe-
cialized businesses. After 1855, the mass production of
carte-de-visite portraits and stereographic views induced
specifi c procedures of storage and display, and encour-
aged collecting and exchanging practices that spread
quickly through the upper classes of society; the rela-
tive uniformity of formats and mounts was something
like a standard, facilitating fi ling and circulation. ThePHOTOGRAPHIC PRACTICES
Pécarrère, Pierre Emile Joseph.
Chartres.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art,
Gilman Collection, Purchase,
Anonymous Gift, 2005 (2005.100.37)
Image © The Metropolitan Museum of
Art.