Unusual Artifacts: A Stereograph, "A Family at Afternoon Tea," 1855-60

A Family at Afternoon Tea
Underwood and Underwood, N.Y.
1855-1860
The Victoria & Albert Museum

We’ve looked at stereographs from my own collection before, but here’s one from the V&A.

To refresh your memory,  a stereograph is a pair of photographic images of the same subject taken from slightly different angles. When viewed through a special “stereo viewer” or “stereoscope”, these images give the illusion of a single three-dimensional image when viewed through a stereoscope designed to hold it.  They remained popular from the 1850s well into the Twentieth Century.

Occasionally, these images were colored by hand in watercolors, paints or inks to make them more life-like.   In this case, I’m glad the image was colored since it gives us an idea of look of a typical American, Victorian home.  Here, we see a group which has been posed in the act of taking tea from a silver tea set and china cups and saucers. Domestic scenes like this one--of a model family like or of the institutions of society such as school, church or marriage --were typical subjects of popular stereographs.

This stereograph was made between 1855 and 1860 by Underwood & Underwood of New York, USA.

Unusual Artifacts: A Stereograph, "A Family at Afternoon Tea," 1855-60

A Family at Afternoon Tea
Underwood and Underwood, N.Y.
1855-1860
The Victoria & Albert Museum

We’ve looked at stereographs from my own collection before, but here’s one from the V&A.

To refresh your memory,  a stereograph is a pair of photographic images of the same subject taken from slightly different angles. When viewed through a special “stereo viewer” or “stereoscope”, these images give the illusion of a single three-dimensional image when viewed through a stereoscope designed to hold it.  They remained popular from the 1850s well into the Twentieth Century.

Occasionally, these images were colored by hand in watercolors, paints or inks to make them more life-like.   In this case, I’m glad the image was colored since it gives us an idea of look of a typical American, Victorian home.  Here, we see a group which has been posed in the act of taking tea from a silver tea set and china cups and saucers. Domestic scenes like this one--of a model family like or of the institutions of society such as school, church or marriage --were typical subjects of popular stereographs.

This stereograph was made between 1855 and 1860 by Underwood & Underwood of New York, USA.

Unusual Artifacts: Marvels of the Stereoscope, 1860

Click on image for a larger size.

Marvels of the Stereoscope:  What is Seen and What is Not Seen
Michael Burr, c. 1860
The Victoria & Albert Museum

In the 1860s, photographer Michael Burr produced this hand-colored photograph called “Marvels of the Stereoscope: What is Seen and What is Not Seen.” The image, actually two frames with one slightly off-set, were manufactured as stereographs in their own right. The cards served to show the amazing depth of field which could be achieved by the simple stereoscope.

Stereoscopic images were all the rage in the second half of the Nineteenth Century and were the third most popular format for albumen photographs, behind cartes de visite and cabinet cards. A display of stereoscopic Daguerreotypes by Duboscq at the Great Exhibition caught the eye of Queen Victoria who was so amazed by the illusion of three dimensionality that she became a fan of the art form. Her Majesty’s admiration only caused the production of stereoscopic images to increase.

Burr’s image not only satirizes stereoscopic photography, but also celebrates it and refers to a quote from Hamlet, “Seems madam? Nay, it IS!”

Object of the Day: An Underwood and Underwood Stereoscope, 1891

As regular readers know, I’ve been collecting stereographs (the long photographic cards employed with stereoscopes to produce three dimensional images) for several months now. I’ve enjoyed the look of these stereo cards themselves. Their double images, often set in arched compositions, are neat glimpses into Victorian life. Seemingly identical, one image is actually slightly off-set so that, when observed through a viewer, the scene becomes three-dimensional.

Since I’ve a good many stereographs, I’ve been looking for a stereo viewer, or stereoscope, so that I could view the cards as they were meant to be seen. I’ve known what’s supposed to happen when you view the cards, but I’d not actually seen it in action. I’ve been looking and looking for one…and…

Image my surprise when I received a package from Ithaca, New York, specifically from the Downtown Ithaca Alliance as a gift of hospitality. As many of you know, several months ago, I was named “Fan of the Week” of the fourth hour of NBC’s TODAY. My gift from Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb—a trip to Ithaca. Tomorrow, I’ll be telling you all of the wonderful things I’ve learned about Ithaca, its residents and culture. But, for now, let’s stick with our stereoscope.

Amongst the goodies in the package from Ithaca was the stereoscope that I very much wanted. This one, made by Underwood and Underwood about 1891 gave me my first look into the 3-D novelties of the late Nineteenth Century. I love it! I spent an hour just gazing at cards and marveling at the detail which sprang to life. The viewer itself is actually a work of art, too. With its handsome profile and elegant curves, it’s a great representation of the work of its famous makers. 

Underwood & Underwood was founded in Ottawa, Kansas in the early 1880s. The company produced stereoscopes and stereoscopic images, and, later, were considered one of the earliest pioneers of American news photography.

Elmer (1859-1947) and Bert (1862-1943) Underwood started their stereo concern by selling their stereoscopes in Kansas, door-to-door. The novelty became so popular that by 1891, the brothers moved their headquarters to New York and soon they had established branches in Baltimore, London and Canada. By 1901, Underwood and Underwood was selling over 300,000 stereoscopes a year and manufacturing more than 25,000 cards a day. In 1920, the majority of the brothers’ catalog was sold to the Keystone View Company.

A similar stereoscope is located in the V&A. The model in the V&A, also by Underwood and Underwood, dates to about 1901 and features a stamped tin screen with a padded velvet rim to protect the face.

Object of the Day: A Double-sided Stereograph

Click on image to be novel.

Made to be viewed in a stereoscope, a popular novelty of the Nineteenth Century, these cards feature side-by-side, off-set pictures which, when seen through the viewer, would appear as a 3-D image. A number of companies produced such cards and viewers. Every so often, as in this case, the stereographs were hand-colored.

I’m not sure who published this stereograph. There’s no mark whatsoever. What’s unusual about it is that it’s two sided. Prior to seeing these few which were recently added to my collection, I’d not come across other two-sided stereographs. Usually, this would have been prohibitive because of the intention curve given to most cards in order to produce the 3-D effect. Images on the back would have curved the wrong way and made a distorted image. However, this card is flat, allowing for a double-sided image. Since I don’t actually have a stereoscope, I can’t see how the flatness alters the dimension of the final image. 

The card boasts off-set images of Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral on one side and Spain’s Court of the Fishes at The Alhambra on the other. Such architectural images were popular themes for stereographs as they provided opportunities for visual depth.

You can click on this one, too.

Unusual Artifacts: A Stereograph, "A Family at Afternoon Tea," 1855-60

A Family at Afternoon Tea
Underwood and Underwood, N.Y.
1855-1860
The Victoria & Albert Museum

We’ve looked at stereographs from my own collection before, but here’s one from the V&A.

To refresh your memory,  a stereograph is a pair of photographic images of the same subject taken from slightly different angles. When viewed through a special “stereo viewer” or “stereoscope”, these images give the illusion of a single three-dimensional image when viewed through a stereoscope designed to hold it.  They remained popular from the 1850s well into the Twentieth Century.

Occasionally, these images were colored by hand in watercolors, paints or inks to make them more life-like.   In this case, I’m glad the image was colored since it gives us an idea of look of a typical American, Victorian home.  Here, we see a group which has been posed in the act of taking tea from a silver tea set and china cups and saucers. Domestic scenes like this one--of a model family like or of the institutions of society such as school, church or marriage --were typical subjects of popular stereographs.

This stereograph was made between 1855 and 1860 by Underwood & Underwood of New York, USA.

Object of the Day: A Stereograph Depicting the Palace of Westminster

Here we see another stereograph from my growing collection of antique ephemera.  Produced by the Keystone View Company, the off-set images are meant to be viewed with a hand-held stereo viewer or "stereoscope".

The front of the stiff cardboard slide is marked:

Keystone View Company Copyrighted H.C. White Co.
Manufacturers.      Made in U.S.A.        Publishers

Meadville, Pa.,  New York, NY. 
Chicago, Ill., London, England


W25414 T Houses of Parliament and Towers of Westminster Abbey, W. across Thames, London, England.


On the reverse, we see:

HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT AND TOWERS OF WESTMINSTER ABBEY, LONDON

     The legislative halls of an empire upon which the sun never sets rise impressively before us.  Extending 940 feet along the Thames, the Houses of Parliament, comprising the House of Lords and the House of Commons, are of surpassing beauty and size, covering nearly eight acres.  These buildings contain eleven courts, 100 staircases and 1100 apartments.  They were begun in 1840 and finished in 1859, at a total cost little short of $15,000,000.  The government officials, secretaries, and employees frequenting the buildings make up a great army in addition to the actual members of the two Houses, and this enormous pile, vast as it is, provides no more than appropriate housing for the conduct of national houses. 
     On the left, Victoria Rower, seventy feet square, uplifts it's pinnacles to an altitude of 340 feet.  The spire seen in the center of the building is known as the Middle Tower.  The Clock Tower, in the distance on the right, has a height of 318 feet.  Its four dials are each twenty-three feet in diameter, their circumference being circled every hour by minute hands twelve feet in length.  This os the tower in which "Big Ben" is hung, a ponderous bell weighing thirteen tons, whose deep-toned voice can be heard eight miles away.
     The twin towers that we see beyond the Victoria Tower, at the extreme left, are those of Westminster Abbey.  To the extreme right, beyond the Houses of Parliament, the Victoria Embankment begins, there also is located the new "Scotland Yard," London's famousmpolice headquarters.

Copyright by the Keystone View Company 

Object of the Day: A Stereograph of Westminster Abbey, c. 1899

I make a very common mistake in describing these types of photographic images.  I have long called them stereopticon cards.  Many people do. But, that’s wrong.  The correct term for these side-by-side, off-set images mounted on stiff card is “stereograph.  They are viewed using a “stereoscope” which is a hand-held personal viewer which not only magnifies the image, but because the photos are slightly different from each other, produces a 3-D effect.

So, what’s the difference?  A Stereopticon actually projects these images whereas a stereoscope is held and viewed by a single person.

Now that I have that cleared up, let’s take a look at this nifty card.  It shows two side-by-side, off-set images of Westminster Abbey.  This card was produced by the Keystone View Company (1892-1963), which was based in Pennsylvania, Unites States.

The front of the card also reads:

Keystone View Company

Copyright H.C. White Co.

Manufacturers  Made in U.S.A.  Publishers

Meadville, PA., New York, NY.

Chicago, Ill., London, England

W28116 T  Westminster Abbey, Last resting place of nation’s great.  Seen from the Dean’s Yard, London, England.

The reverse of the card beautifully reads:

W28116

WESTMINSTER ABBEY SEEN FROM THE DEAN’S YARD, LONDON

No wonder England regards Westminster Abbey as its National Valhalla.  When we recall the long line of kings from Edward the Confessor to George III and the still more glorious company of poets, artists, statesmen and men of letters whose bones are sheltered in this historic pile, the Abbey is no longer merely a place of wonderful sculpture, architecture and antiquities, but becomes instinct with the memories of England’s greatest souls. 

The church was built in the customary form of a Latin cross and the famous chapel of Henry VII is an addition at the farther end of the nave.  The while length is 513 feet.  The Gothic rood is more than 100 feet above the pavement.  The towers, designed by Sir Christopher Wren, are 225 feet high.

In early times, this spot was surrounded by the waters of the Thames.  Here, on the introduction of Christianity into Britain, a monastic institution was founded and upon the site of its ruins an abbey was raised by Edward the Confessor about the year 1060.  William the Conqueror was the first sovereign crowned here.

Everywhere within are imposing monuments, sepulchral tablets, statuary and tombs and the banners of chivalry.  The Poet’s Corner in the south transept contains the memorials of authors eminent in English literature, including one of our own, Longfellow.

Many writers have recorded their impressions of the Abbey.  Washington Irving wrote years ago:  “The spaciousness and gloom of this vast edifice produce a profound and mysterious awe.  We step cautiously and softly about as if fearful of disturbing the hallowed silence.  We feel that we are surrounded by the congregated bones of the great men of past times who have filled history with their deeds…”

Copyright by the Keystone View Company