| 1859 | Europe • France | Emperor Napoleon III of France departing for the Austro-Sardinian War in Italy with his army stops at the studio of André Adolphe-Eugène Disdéri to have his portrait taken. Although Disderi had the patent for carte-de-visite from 1854 this incident creates the publicity for a craze for photographic visiting cards that sweeps across the world. Whilst this makes for a good story that is often repeated subsequent research indicates that it is probably false. (May 1859) |
| 1859 | North America • USA | Blondin crosses the Niagara Falls on a tightrope and is photographed by William England for the London Stereoscopic Co. The stereocard becomes the most popular they ever published selling over 100,000 copies. |
| 1859 | Europe • France | On Photography, a section of Charles Baudelaire’s review of the annual Salon, fiercely condemns the medium. |
| 1859 | North America • USA | 1859 Oliver Wendell Holmes lauds “The Stereoscope and the Stereograph” in The Atlantic Monthly. He is the first to use the term stereograph. |
| 1859 | Europe • France | A group of artists and photographers, including Eugène Delacroix, Francis Wey and Gustave Le Gray succeed in getting photography included in the 1859 Paris Salon but the photography section has a separate entrance. |
