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Stereoscopic photography was very popular in the Victorian era. This reproduced images in three dimensions. It is a process whose popularity waxed and waned--as it does now--reaching its heights in the mid-Victorian era. Few homes in the mid- and late-19th century were without an affordable stereoscopic viewer that presented a "3D" vision of popular scenes. We are not sure when they first appeared, but them seem more or less ciontempraneous with the CDVs. We note steroscopes being shown in exhibits durung the 1850s. We are not positive about just when stereo photography and the stereoscopic viewer were developed. The earliest example we have is from England in the mid-1850s, a Daguerreotype portrait of an unidentified family. Dag portraits were expensive and thus the general public could not afford them. They were not feasible for the general public until albumen processing was developed. Thus we do not see commercial versions until the 1860s. We note a scene of a French studio where stereo view cards were being made, probanly in the 1860s. Notably boys and young women were employed there. We note many more stereo portraits in the 1860s with the development of negative-based photography. They were almost iniversal in middle-class families by the 1870s. They were a very popular diversion in the Victorian home. At the time there were no movies and magazines did not yet have photographic images. Tghey are a wonderful source of information on the late-19th century. They came in a wide variety of subjects, including historic houses, ships, city and farm scenes, family scenes and many other topics. Most were informative, but some were made with a little humor such as a boy's sister and beau in the parlor. The boy friend eventually has to give the little brother a coin to leave them along.
Stereoscopic photography was very popular in the Victorian era. This reproduced images in three dimensions. It is a process whose popularity waxed and waned--as it does now--reaching its heights in the mid-Victorian era. Few homes in the mid- and late-19th century were without an affordable stereoscopic viewer that presented a "3D" vision of popular scenes. It was a way of seeing the world before the lithography--the technology of publising photograophs had been developed. Thus there was a great demand for imagery. We note, for example, all kinds of Civil Wars scenes in America. And that was just the beginning. People could buy images of scenic sites in their own countries as well as foreign countries. They came in a wide variety of subjects, including historic houses, ships, city and farm scenes, family scenes and many other topics. They were almost universal in middle-class families by the 1870s. They were a very popular diversion in the Victorian home. Most were informative, but some were made with a little humor such as a boy's sister and beau in the parlor. The boy friend eventually has to give the little brother a coin to leave them along.
Theoretically Dags, Ambros, and tin-types could be used for stteeeoscopic photography. Each of the ese formats had multiple drawbacks, the principal one being was there was no negative which cold be used to make multiple copies of images. THe early processes were one shot affairs. Multiple copies only came about wih the albumen process used first for CDVs. And soon after the CDV appeared (late-1850s), we begin to see stereoview cards (early-1860s). Finally you had a procss that could reproduce images in the thousands.
At the time there were no movies and magazines did not yet have photographic images. Thus these steroscopic images are a wonderful source of information on the late-19th century. Much of 19th century photography was studio portraits. For the stereospoic market, howevers, buyers wanted interesting imagery ifrom the wuider world. This thus has left us with a wionderful record of the world in the late-19th century.
We are not sure when they first appeared, but them seem more or less ciontempraneous with the CDVs. We note steroscopes being shown in exhibits durung the 1850s. We are not positive about just when stereo photography and the stereoscopic viewer were developed. The earliest example we have is from England in the mid-1850s, a Daguerreotype of an unidentified family shot as a studio portrait. . Dag portraits were expensive and thus the general public could not afford them. They were not feasible for the general public until albumen processing was developed. Thus we do not see commercial versions until the 1860s. We note many more stereo portraits in the 1860s with the development of negative-based photography. And we note the stero viewers as studio props throughout the remainder of the 19th century. And this did not end with the turn of the 20th century. I can recall plastic stereoviewers with colored images in circuklasr discs in the 1950s.
If any country had an advantage in creating a stereoscopic industry, it was of course Britain with its empire that sanne the glove. The money of couse was in thre cards. The viewers were n exoensive. Bt nce a family had a viwer they wanted cards tuned t their interests. And Briish comapnies could set up operations and photographers throughout the vast Empire in great safety and using the English language. France also had a large diverse empire. As a result Britain did develop a substantial streoscopic industry. But it was the United Srates that developed the largest stereoscopic industry. And the United States did not even have an enpire to peak of. It developeda a few overseas possessions (1898), primarily with the acquisition of the Philippines (1898), but decided to grant even this smll opossession independence (1935). What America had was a market. Not only did the United Stats have alarge population. But Ameican workers were the best paid in the world. No other market could rival that of the Unite Statesuntil the creation of the European Union.
We note a scene of a French studio where stereo view cards were being made, probably in the 1850s or very early-60s. Notably boys and young women were employed there.
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