Philip L. Dobereiner. Photographer in Caledonia from 1864 -1885
He was 28 years old, and advertised himself in the 1865 Grand River Sachem as Photographer. He specialized in what were known as Carte de visite or Visiting cards. They were inexpensive paper photographs mounted on a 2 ½ x 4 inch card. They were small, cheap to make, as well as inexpensive and fashionable to buy. They were quickly becoming popular all over the world. Philip Dobereiner sold them 12 for a dollar, 6 for fifty cents. Invented by French Photographer Louis Dodero in 1851. Patented in Paris by André Adolphe-Eugène Disdéri in 1854. Specially designed cameras with 4 to up to 15 lenses were used to take the photos. The original design initially exposed ten images on one plate, exposed either simultaneously or in sequence. Once printed onto contact sheet, the photographer would then cut out each individual photo and paste them onto cards to make them easy to carry, share and to mail. People would give them to each other as calling cards, or send...
