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. Most people were photographed in studio settings, against backgrounds that alluded to wealth, education or taste.

This carte-de-visite is a photograph of a Victorian Haddington lady, named Susan Brown. She is sitting by a table that has two books on it. The photographer who took this photograph was Robert Conquer of Haddington.

The 'carte' became so popular, that by the 1860's between three and four hundred million were sold annually to people of most social backgrounds. The craze for collecting cartes-de-visites is sometimes referred to as 'cartomania'.