Cartomania

Maggie Kurkoski is a member of the Smith College class of 2012 and the Brown Post-Baccalaureate Curatorial Fellow in the Cunningham Center.

Cartes-de-visite were a revolutionary form of photography – while earlier methods were expensive or clunky, cartes were small and mounted on card paper, which made them easy to handle. Available for pennies, cartes-de-visite are sometimes called “album photographs,” as many collected the prints in specially-designated albums. By the 1860s, “cartomania” had set in, and between 1861 and 1867 over 300 million cartes were sold every year in England. Pictures of celebrities, soaring vistas, and family portraits were all hugely popular. Cartes-de-visite offered most people their first opportunity to own photographs at all.

Early photography was an involved process that went beyond shooting the picture - the profession demanded a familiarity with the chemicals and techniques needed to sensitize the glass negatives and paper, develop images and tone the final prints. A. J. Schillare was a local artist who owned a studio on Main Street, Northampton, during the 1870s. Advertisements in local yearbooks reveal that he took studio shots of local college students, likely a major source of business, but he also produced many photographs of the landscape and scenery around him. In the Cunningham Center, we own many of his cartes devoted to Smith College, and the surrounding Northampton. Can you recognize any of these places today?

Interior of the Art Building

interior, building with pedestals holding plaster casts of classical sculpture and architectural elements, wood floor, hanging gas lighting, two doorways with plaster cast friezes over them

^{A.J. Schillare. American, 1856–1917. Smith College, Art Building, Interior. Toned gelatin silver print mounted on paperboard as a carte de visite. Gift of Martin Stein. Photography by Petegorsky/Gipe. SC 2010.4.33.}

Dewey House

white clapboard house with tall pillars on porch, tree in front of house and another on opposide of driveway at lower right

^{A.J. Schillare. American, 1856–1917. Dewey House, with lawn, Smith College. Toned gelatin silver print mounted on paperboard as a carte de visite. Gift of Martin Stein. Photography by Petegorsky/Gipe. SC 2010.4.37.}

Paradise Pond

exterior, pine tree in foreground with body of water surrounded by scrub growth and large trees

^{A.J. Schillare. American, 1856–1917. Paradise, Northampton. Toned gelatin silver print mounted on paperboard as a carte de visite. Gift of Martin Stein. Photography by Petegorsky/Gipe. SC 2010.4.7.}

The Parlor of Hubbard House

interior, mantle and two padded chairs on right, cloth covered table, rocker, side chair and padded couch opposite, framed pictures on wall, oil ceiling lamp over table, oriental on floor, curtains at large opening to distant hall which has framed picture on easel, one on wall, hanging oil lamp, oriental rug on floor and doorway to another room with closed curtain

^{A.J. Schillare. American, 1856–1917. Hubbard House, Smith College, Parlor toward Main Hall. Toned gelatin silver print mounted on paperboard as a carte de visite. Gift of Martin Stein. Photography by Petegorsky/Gipe. SC 2010.4.18.}

Greenhouse at Capen House

interior, glass green house with tall lilies, man with cap, white shirt, suspenders and mustache tending to plants

^{A.J. Schillare. American, 1856–1917. Capen House, Greenhouse, Interior. Toned gelatin silver print mounted on paperboard as a carte de visite. Gift of Martin Stein. Photography by Petegorsky/Gipe. SC 2010.4.21.}

The Northampton Courthouse

exterior, street curving around large stone building with lawn and trees, visible through trees is church spire, people and horse drawn carriages on street

^{A.J. Schillare. American, 1856–1917. Northampton, Court House and First Church. Toned gelatin silver print mounted on paperboard as a carte de visite. Gift of Martin Stein. Photography by Petegorsky/Gipe. SC 2010.4.43.}

Snow bank on Elm Street

exterior, winter, city street under deep snow with attached brick buildings and eight scattered people standing in snow, signs on buildings include: HOTEL, AAB BROS TAILORS, CLARK & PARSONS, SODA and MINERAL WATERS, MANDELL'S SHOE STORE, CHA'S AND GABB, and UNION PACIFIC TEA Co.

^{A.J. Schillare. American, 1856–1917. Snow bank front of Mansion House, Northampton. Toned gelatin silver print mounted on paperboard as a carte de visite. Gift of Martin Stein. Photography by Petegorsky/Gipe. SC 2010.4.11.}

Main Street in Northampton, looking towards Elm Street

exterior, main street with dirt street, horse drawn carriages and bicyclists on street, brick city block on right with HARNESS TRUNKS sign, awnings covering sidewalk, trees lining street on left, people on sidewalk, telephone poles and wires lining streets, distant view of parts of Smith College buildings

^{A.J. Schillare. American, 1856–1917. Northampton, Main Street looking toward Elm Street. Toned gelatin silver print mounted on paperboard as a carte de visite. Gift of Martin Stein. Photography by Petegorsky/Gipe. SC 2010.4.13.}

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Cartomania

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