Entertainment
through media has changed drastically over the last 150 years. Inventions like
the telegraph, radio, television, and the Internet have shaped the way we
laugh, cry, learn, and everything in between. These forms of communication get
the most attention so today we’re going to talk about an object that is
relatively unsung in the field of entertainment and education – the
stereoscope. “The what?” – Exactly. Pictured to the right is the stereoscope
located in the Farm House Museum. It’s essentially a viewing device that lets
people experience far-away people, places, and things. 
It’s not
a very complicated device to use. All you have to do is hold it up to your
face, look through the two lenses and enjoy! The engineering behind it,
however, is more complicated. To use the stereoscope, you must have stereo
cards, pictured to the left. These have two slightly different pictures of the
same thing, in this case, the Coliseum in Rome. One picture is taken from the
perspective of the left eye and the other is taken from the perspective of the
right eye, about 7 centimeters away. When we look through the stereoscope, each
eye looks at the corresponding image and our brain combines the images to make
it seem 3D. Pretty cool, huh? 
The
stereoscope was first invented by Sir Charles Wheatstone in 1838. His version
looked very different but still got the job done. Seen to the right, his was
much larger than later models and used two angled mirrors to achieve the same
effect. Later, in 1849, David Brewster improved on the design by using lenses
which allowed the device to be smaller. Queen Victoria found the stereoscope
fascinating and had her portrait manufactured into a stereo card. The new
device was displayed at The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London during the
Great Exhibition of 1851 which today is known by many as the first World’s
Fair. This attention made the stereoscope craze spread like wildfire across the
globe, especially in America.
Americans
took the stereoscope and ran with it. A man named Oliver Wendell Holmes further
improved the design by making it more economical and therefore feasible for
mass production. Holmes didn’t file for a patent for his design so companies
began producing them on a mind-boggling scale. Between 1854 and 1920, there
were an estimated 300 million stereoscopes sold. Companies, like one called
Underwood and Underwood, started selling tours of factories, monuments, and
other travel spots and marketed them as “edutainment” – something for the whole
family. Schools also started to use stereoscopes which was the beginnings of
forming a global student. With the stereoscope, one could appear well-traveled
without having to leave their home state.
The
really interesting thing about the stereoscope is how the technology is
relatively timeless. There are instances of the same binocular depth-perception
displayed with devices we use today. Remember those red and blue 3D glasses you
got at the movies back in the day? All those did was force your eyes to focus
on two slightly shifted images. To the right, you can see what the picture
looks like without the 3D glasses. But, when you look through the color
filters, it blocks the blue or the red for each eye, making it appear
3-dimensional. You can also find devices that are made by Hasbro and Google
that use iPhone apps as stereo cards and create the same effect!
The
story of the stereoscope shows another benefit to studying history through its
objects. Even if it isn’t totally apparent, some technologies and designs don’t
go away. At the heart of it, the stereoscope’s technology is being used in
movie theaters today. Electricity is still generated through steam power plants
like they were in the late 1800’s. The same can be said for fashion. A few
weeks ago, I mentioned the Greek key pattern which is hundreds, if not
thousands of years old and still can be found on textiles today.
The Farm House Museum is a treasure trove of objects like
these. Not only will you step back in time when you walk through the door,
you’ll notice similarities between two very different time periods if you look
closely enough.
Stop by anytime, Monday through Friday, 12 to 4 p.m.
