Acting Out

Most people thought of photography merely as a tool for documenting appearance; getting a portrait made once or twice over the course of one’s lifetime was plenty.

Quite simply, there was not enough business to go around. The challenge was to build a new fad and to get people to come into the studio more often. The cards answered that need.

Cabinet cards may seem small by today’s standards, but at about the size of mobile phone screens, they provided images that were three times larger than the main photographic formats of the day.

Suddenly, facial expressions, clothing, and surroundings were far more visible.

Individuals across America took advantage of larger images to show off, share their personalities, and create playful narratives.

In short, they began to act out their lives, friendships, and fantasies before the camera.

Some of them even played with photographic believability by arranging sittings that showed them two or more times in the same image.

As informality and play became photography’s watchwords, getting photographed became a commonplace act for anyone with a bit of time and a few dollars to spend.

Family albums became sources of entertainment, and by the turn of the century Americans were primed for the arrival of the snapshot.

Still, for many people, getting one’s portrait made was a chore. Poses had to be held for at least 5-10 seconds. Projecting a relaxed smile was out of the question.

Enter Napoleon Sarony (1821–1896). An energetic self-promoter, between 1866 and the mid-1890s he built a hugely successful business as photographer to the stars, using the cabinet card as his medium.

With careful attention to lighting and props, and with an understanding of the camera’s ability to fake immediacy, he depicted actors as if they were caught in the moment or in mid-performance.

His new way of thinking about photography influenced practitioners across the nation, helping transform the act of getting one’s portrait made into an event defined by informality and play.

Most photographers, especially those in small towns, built their clienteles by offering an array of backdrop options along with the opportunity to select among a wide range of personalizing overlays.

To help build and sustain business, they emblazoned their card fronts with their names and studio locations and filled the card backs with elaborate motifs, often aligning photography with high art.

Cabinet cards taught people that getting your portrait made could be fun, and getting it made repeatedly could open new doorways to self-expression.

Where earlier photographs were usually created for the purpose of showcasing appearance and stature, cabinet cards celebrated moments in time.

The format helped Americans photographically celebrate every stage of life, from infancy to death, often within a framework of informality. They led some sitters to play with pose, props, and settings.

Through cabinet cards, Americans proclaimed their achievements, friendships, and hobbies, and they celebrated family and even added humor to their self-depictions.

Though roll film was invented in 1888, most people continued to engage professional photographers to make their portraits.

By transforming people’s lives into visual diaries, whether for albums or loose arrays, cabinet cards helped pave the way for the snapshot.

They embedded themselves in exotic settings, pretended that they were caught dressing to go out, joked around with each other, and even openly challenged photography’s inherent believability by interacting with themselves as if they had magically multiplied.

It was all a game of course. That photographs are read first as direct and truthful depictions of whatever is before the lens only made the activity even more enjoyable.

Then, in 1900, Eastman Kodak Company introduced its $1 Brownie camera. Immediately, the ease of photographing shifted from studios into the hands of almost anyone.

With that change, cabinet cards fell out of fashion, but the outlook of comfortable relaxation instigated by the cabinet card continued from early personal photos to social media today.