Stereoscopic photography
The principle of binocular vision was established for the first time in 1831 by the British physician Charles Wheatstone. A truly fashionable phenomenon ever since the London Great Exhibition of 1851, stereoscopic photography lost its appeal after 1865. From the 1880s onwards, this quite particular form of photography enjoyed a return to popularity with the advent of the dry plate and of cameras which were easier to handle.
In 1891, the International Congress of Photography adopted a standardised 8.5x17cm format for stereogrammes. Those which were available to buy enjoyed consistent success, the more so since the easy-to-use open type or “American” stereoscope was widely distributed.
The first stereoscopy clubs were founded in around 1900, but the arrival of the postcard and of cinema took stereoscopic photography to task, forcing its advocates to pull together to save it.
Between 1900 and 1920, the range of stereoscopic cameras was very broad, with high quality versions like those from the Jules Richard factory in Paris leading the field. Decisive progress at the end of the century was down to him for his patent for the Verascope in January 1893, a camera which was easy to use but employed high quality technology, designed for taking and looking at images. The immense success of this camera, along with the range which followed it, not counting the numerous viewers which Richard invented like the Taxiphote, a stereo transparency viewing cabinet for the home, made a considerable contribution to renewing enthusiasm for stereoscopy circa 1900.