#stereographs

In celebrating National 3-D Day today, we’re posting stereographs from our Special Collections. Stereographs were very popular in the United States and Europe from mid-1850s to 1900s. First demonstrated in 1832 by English physicist Sir Charles Wheatstone, then improved by Sir David Brewster in 1849, stereographs were the original virtual reality! As you can see from the first image, two photos of the same subject are shown side by side, then the image is viewed through the lenses as shown in the second image. The two images of the same subject are brought together as one image that has an illusion of three-dimensionality by the effort of the human brain.

A Member of a Maiden Lady's Family.

ca. 1865

[84.XC.702.169]

Red Wing Stereoscope

Recently, Special Collections received a donation of two pristine Red Wing Stereoscopes made by Luther Askeland in the 1980s, donated by his daughter.

The Red Wing Viewer was designed by Craig Daniels, of Red Wing, Minnesota, in 1982. The beautiful new design wasn't just another reproduction of the classic stereoscope designed by poet and physician Oliver Wendell Holmes in 1861. Daniels' design corrected many of the problems of other mass produced stereoscopes--the card holder didn't wobble, the hood was big enough for eyeglasses, the lenses didn't slide in their mounts, it was sturdy, and made of beautiful wood with a leather hood. When demand for the Red Wing Viewers picked up in 1985, Daniels brought in Luther Askeland to fabricate and assemble the viewers in his woodworking shop in nearby Welch, Minnesota. Askeland had already been supplying Daniels with walnut wood and some other wood parts, but he soon was doing most of the work--following over 16 pages of detailed instructions and figuring out the best and most efficient way to make each part. Craig Daniels continued to supply the glass lenses and brass parts, and Askeland's daughter, Kari, who donated the stereoscopes, helped with the packaging and shipping. The price of a Red Wing Viewer in 1986, without stand, was $68.00.

Some Victorian stereographs. A stereograph is a double image taken from two very slightly different angles to mimic the different angles our eyes see at. When viewed through a stereoscope, you see one 3D image. They were all the rage in the 1850s and 1860s especially and every parlour had a scope and some slides.