John Moffat 

and his

Cartes de Visite

Here are the fronts of a few of John Moffat's cartes de visite....

©  Copyright: For permission to reproduce, please contact peter.stubbs@edinphoto.org.uk

   ... and here are the backs of the same cartes de visite.  

©  Copyright: For permission to reproduce, please contact peter.stubbs@edinphoto.org.uk

Each time John Moffat was awarded another Exhibition Medal, he incorporated it into the advert on the back of his cartes de visite.  He displayed both the front and back of each Medal, so the cartes de visite above show one, two, three and three Medals respectively.

Carte de Visite - Diamond Portrait

©  Reproduced by courtesy of National Galleries of Scotland.  See Copyright Notice

This is another of Moffat's Cartes de Visite  - four different portraits of the same sitter.  The overall size of the card is about 2.5 ins x 4 ins.

See Cartes de Visite by Edinburgh Photographers for two more of John Moffat's cartes de visite.

Records from John Moffat's business

I believe that I read in a booklet by John Moffat's grandson that records from John Moffat's business (but not photographs) have been deposited with the National Archives of Scotland at Register House, Edinburgh.  If they are still there, they may record the numbers of the photos that he produced each year. 

It was common practice in the nineteenth century for photographers to number their photos chronologically and to write the numbers on the back of cartes de visite and cabinet prints, so that the sitter could order further copies at a later date.

If I find time to check the Register House records, and if they enable Moffat's photos to be dated from the numbers written on the back of the photos, I'll add the info to this site.