The Stereoscope

               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.