Cartes-de-visites were introduced to Britain in the late 1840's and began a new era in popular photography. Local studios and itinerant photographers ensured availability across the United Kingdom.

This carte-de-visite is a photograph of a Victorian gentleman. He is posed sitting in a wooden chair, with a decanter and glass of port on the table beside him. Robert Conquer of Haddington took this photograph.

Men were pictured in a greater variety of poses than women in carte-de-visite images. Popular photography allowed both sexes to record full length portraits - a luxury previously limited to the very rich.