Composite Photograph of 100 Portraits of Actresses, c. 1860.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: likely 1860s. Carte de visite measuring 2 ¼ by 3 ½ inches on heavy cardstock. Wear to both photograph and mount, overall very good to excellent. Item #List2986
Though Dadaists are frequently credited with the invention of photomontage, techniques involving combining multiple photographs into a single composite image have been around since at least the mid-Victorian era.[1] These could be made by combining negatives, or by combining prints and then re-photographing the result so that it looked seamless. Offered here is an example of early composite imagery published by F. L. Moore of Philadelphia, consisting of portraits of women numbered 1–100. It seems to be a reproduction by Moore of an 1860s “theatrical portrait gallery” of actresses’ portraits produced by C. D. Fredericks & Co. of New York City; note that Moore is identified verso as an “Importer & Publisher of Cartes de Visite, &c.,” not a photographer. An interesting early example of photomanipulation.
[1] Robert A. Sobieszek, “Composite Imagery and the Origins of Photomontage, Part I: The Naturalistic Strain,” Artforum 17, no. 1 (September 1978): 58–65.
Price: $750.00