With the wide release of 3D movies such as "Avatar" and "Shrek" and the availability of 3D televisions it's clear that the interest in 3D imaging is growing exponentially. Is 3D imaging an exciting new technology, part of the recent digital revolution? Actually the knowledge of 3D imaging techniques predates photography, and many of the first 19th century photographs were 3D images taken with stereo cameras!
The most popular format for 3D photography in the late 1800s and early 1900s was the Stereocard. These black and white images were contact prints, often from 7 inch wide glass negatives. Antique stereocards in good condition are still astonishingly sharp and detailed, easily the match of any modern digital printing technology.
n 1838 Professor Charles Wheatstone established that humans perceive depth when the brain combines two slightly different images. Each eye sees the world from a slightly different vantage point.; At almost the same time Fox Talbot invented the first photographic processes. To prove his theory, Wheatstone invented an instrument he called the stereoscope to view paired images. Within fifty years stereo photography grew to become one of the most popular forms of entertainment, becoming as widespread as TV is today. In the 1890’s nearly every prosperous home owned a stereoscope with a large assortment of stereocards of distant places and famous people. This was the home entertainment center of the day. Card salesmen traveled from door to door and even offered stereo photography services and custom cards.
A quick ebay search on the term "stereocard" will give some sense of the wealth of photographic material that was made available in this format.
Examples of vintage stereocards (actual size 7 inches wide). The second card was hand-colored.
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