Cartes de Visite

Cartes de visite were small photographs, 3.5 ins x 2.25 ins mounted on trade cards 4.125 ins  x 2.5 ins.  They were produced in large quantities by professional photographers, particularly between 1860 and 1900.  They were not high art, but a provided a likeness of the sitter that could be produced inexpensively and were generally sold by the dozen.  

Here are some examples of cartes de visite from Edinburgh photographers:

Ladies in Large Dresses

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The ladies' fashions, and the style of mounting of theses cards, with a simple name on the back suggest that these are all early examples from around the 1860s.

Bearded Men

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Ladies were far more common sitters than gentlemen, but here are a few men.  The examples on the top row are by photographers with established businesses based in Edinburgh.  The examples on the lower row are from photographic companies  with studios throughout Britain, including Edinburgh right, with the figure larger in the frame and the rounded corners to the mount is a later example, probably from the 1890s.