Social media has always existed. carte de visite portrait was intended for an indeterminate and potentially large audience that was likely to make assumptions about the sitter’s character and class based on superficial signifiers, there were motivations for people to adopt a visual persona that presented them in an idealized fashion. Ostensibly, subjects did this with the hope that their carte would serve a performative function, bringing about social effects through certain kinds of carefully calibrated self-presentation. Image credit: Page from the Westmorland carte de visite album, c. 1864. J. Paul Getty Museum. Object number 84.XD.1283.