Collecting handheld stereoscopes

Before “moving” pictures became popular, folks used to entertain themselves by looking through handheld stereoscopes that “transported” them to the 3D scene they were viewing.  These little three and a half by seven-inch thick cards featuring nearly identical pictures that, when viewed through the stereoscope and adjusted in length from the eyes, produced a clear, detailed scene.

Stereoscopes work the way your vision works. Since both of our eyes are positioned about two inches apart, we see objects from two slightly different angles, which our brain then processes into a single picture with spatial dimension and depth. When you look at the cards (not through the viewer), you will notice that the two pictures are slightly different.

These viewers were developed around the 1840s in various designs but the most popular model was perfected by Oliver Wendell Holmes who produced a small inexpensive hand held model and millions were sold.  The picture cards also were produced in several sizes but the most popular was the size mentioned above.

The photo cards were originally produced in black and white and then later in color. They mainly depicted “events,” and Queen Victoria loved them and helped them become very popular during her reign. Animals, religious depictions and comic situations were also very popular subjects of the cards.

These cards have always been very popular with collectors; certain genres are especially valuable depending on the subject matter.  Railroad, Native American and military cards are especially collectible.  When movie theatres became popular, the little stereographs were often forgotten or put away.

In the 1950’s the Viewmaster with its little plastic viewers and round cards that were inserted into the viewer treated a whole new generation to viewing multidimensional images and pretending you “were there” in the picture.  The Viewmaster and its cards are also very collectible.  I still think it is fun to look at stereoscopes and Viewmasters!  Happy Collecting!

Jillinda Falen has been buying and selling antiques for over 39 years and is a licensed REALTOR and estate liquidation specialist.  You can contact her through the Houston Home Journal or via email at jcfalen@gmail.com.