The Prešov photographer is a leading figure in the history of 19th-century photography in the territory of the former Upper Hungary (today's Slovakia). Originally trained as a pharmacist, he began his career as a portrait photographer during the 1860s in Bardejovské Kúpele and Prešov. From the beginning of the 1870s, he became one of the first and most prolific photographers of the Tatra Mountains (Central Carpathians), and later, in cooperation with the newly founded Hungarian Carpathian Association, also of the Eastern Carpathians and Pieniny Mountains.
In the field of mountain and landscape photography, his importance is comparable to the work of photographers such as Avit Szubert (Poland), Ferenc Veress (Kingdom of Hungary), Bernhard Johannes (Germany), and Jindřich Eckert (Czech Republic). Beyond mountains, Divald's scope of interests and subjects was extensive – he photographed aristocratic estates, manors, and industrial plants for family archives of the nobility, and took photographs for presentation at world fairs and national exhibitions. He also photographed spa towns, caves, and various natural sights as promotional material for the town or region.
In 1878, he founded in Prešov one of the first collotype printing houses, where he produced art prints, and later opened a branch in Budapest. In 1890, he passed his businesses on to his first three sons, Károly (Karol), Lajos (Ludovít), and Adolf, who until after 1900 contributed meaningfully to preserving the image of the landscape of Upper Hungary.
