Figure 1.--This boy in 1887 was photographed with a strereo viewer. Strangely he is holding a regular portrait nd there are no stereocards on the table.

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.

Popularity

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.

Resource

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.

Chronology

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.

Studios

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.

Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Sailor suits] [Sailor hats] [Buster Brown suits]
[Eton suits] [Rompers] [Tunics] [Smocks] [Pinafores]

Created: October 15, 2003
Last updated: 5:24 AM 7/8/2011