Customs House Museum
200 S. Second St
Clarksville TN 37040
931-648-5780
Visiting Faces: An Exhibit of German Carte Des Vistes and Cabinet Cards
CLARKSVILLE, TN – The original 1898 building of the Customs House Museum showcases the exhibit Visiting Faces through October 31st. This collection of T. Max Hochstetler features portraits of German royals, actors, singers, composers, musicians, and directors. Max states, “One afternoon I wandered into a small antique shop in the little village of Dornach, Switzerland. Scattered atop a table was a large group of photographs. Among the cabinet card photographs were portraits of a woman wearing many different theatrical costumes. The cabinet card photographers were E. Bieber and J. C. Schaarwächter and many had embossed dates.”
Both photographers ran highly successful businesses, which catered to the elite of society in Germany. E. Bieber, a portrait atelier, founded in Hamburg by Emilie Bieber (1810-1884), in 1852. Her nephew, Leonard Bieber and his son, continued to operate the businesses in Hamburg and Berlin W. for more than eighty years. Julius C. Schaarwächter’s (1821-1905) atelier first established business in 1852, making portraits and selling photography chemicals and paper. In 1877, Schaarwächter moved his business to West Berlin where he gained fame and wealth.
The carte de visite photograph proved to be a very popular item during the American Civil War. Soldiers, friends and family members would have a means of inexpensively obtaining photographs and sending them to loved ones in small envelopes. Each photograph was the size of a visiting card, and such photograph cards became enormously popular and were traded among friends and visitors. The immense popularity of these card photographs led to the publication and collection of photographs of prominent persons. “Card mania” spread throughout Europe and then quickly to America.
The Customs House Museum is the second largest general museum in Tennessee. Visitors will find an array of exhibits throughout its galleries in addition to the model trains and Explorers’ Floor interactive children’s area. The Customs House Museum is located at the corner of Second and Commerce Streets. Regular museum hours are 10 am to 5 pm Tuesday through Saturday, and 1 to 5 pm on Sundays. Adult admission is $7, Sr. Citizens and College ID $5, Ages 6 to 18 $3, and under six is free. For more information on the above exhibit contact Terri Jordan, Exhibits Curator, at 931-648-5780 or terri@customshousemuseum.org.
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