It was rinsed, then fixed in potassium cynanide (hypo). It then had to be developed immediately (before it dried) in a ferrosulfate bath, again in the darkroom, promptly. The holder was transfered to the camera, still damp, then exposed. The glass plate was coated with collodion (nitrated cotton dissolved in alcohol and ether), soaked in potassium bromide, sensitized in silver nitrate (in the dark), and then loaded (still in the dark) into a light-tight holder. His assistant has a portable darkroom also on a tripod. Here we see the photographer and his tripod mounted stereo camera. But the photographer had to take a darkroom with him.

During the 'wet-plate' era outdoor photography was best, for exposures in sunlight could be 20 seconds or more. Frederick Scott Archer (1813-1857) invented the wet-plate process in 1851. 1870) Stereo photography is as old as photography itself. Yet we are fortunate to have this glimpse into an era when photography was successfully done under conditions that would deter all but the most dedicated photographer today. These images are from stereo view cards, and these are often in sad condition.

Stereo photography flourished in the early history of photography. As an experiment, I have an alternate version of this web page for those who prefer parallel free-viewing. Some people cannot master the cross eyed free viewing method. In some cases we have corrected alignment and matched the image tone where one picture may have faded. This allows larger images on the computer screen. We have reprinted these cards with the left and right pictures interchanged, for cross eyed viewing. The pictures were taken with a two-lensed camera, recording the subject from two points of view separated by about 2.5 inches, duplicating what our two eyes see. Stereo view cards had two pictures mounted for parallel viewing, on 7 x 3.5 inch heavy cards, usually curved slightly with axis along the long length. Antique Stereo View Cards for Cross-Eyed Viewing.

Antique stereoscope cards