Stereograph

ステレオ写真 / 1850s-1930s / Technique / Photographic Techniques

Two views of one scene taken from slightly separated positions, mounted side by side and sent to each eye through a viewer so the scene reads as depth. Placing an object large in the foreground to force that depth was the standard move.

Stereograph — Stereograph, The Stereograph as an Educator — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain — Stereograph, The Stereograph as an Educator — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

Stereograph — Stereo card 1850s — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain — Stereo card 1850s — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

Stereograph — Underwood & Underwood, stereo card of the Galveston hurricane 1900 — Wikimedia Commons / No restrictions — Underwood & Underwood, stereo card of the Galveston hurricane 1900 — Wikimedia Commons / No restrictions

At a glance

Visual cues

Two nearly identical views side by side
A curved card mount
An object set large in the foreground
Description printed on the back

Best used for

Records of ruins and architecture that need to keep their depth
Exhibition content shown together with the device that displays it

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Dictionary entry

Type: Set title and description on the back and number the series
Composition: Always include foreground, middle and distance to build depth steps
Material: Hold the parallax constant and mount on card stiff enough to curve
Caution: Two images are simply placed side by side without matching the parallax, so viewers never fuse them and come away with tired eyes instead of depth.
Further study: the Holmes viewer / Underwood & Underwood's world tours / the return in VR

Related entries

Carte de Visite (名刺判写真)Shared effects: Nostalgia.Compare Stereograph and Carte de Visite
Panorama (パノラマ館)Shared effects: Exhilaration / Nostalgia.Compare Stereograph and Panorama

Cite this entry

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Link: https://indexstyle.org/styles/stereograph
Markdown: [Stereograph — IndexStyle](https://indexstyle.org/styles/stereograph)
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