Ian Ference's 3D blog on all things stereographic, from classic scopes & stereoviews to historical context & modern analysis
On 1 April 1915, an MoS-3 piloted by Sergeant Jean Navarre took to the skies - where it encountered a German Albatros B.II. Some sharpshooting by the observer, Lieutenant Jean Robert, brought down the biplane - leading to the capture of the craft and its occupants, and the first victory for the MS 12 Escadrille, and medals for Navarre and Robert.
Sometimes, whilst one is sorting through a newly acquired collection, a new slide or card proves just captivating - and one winds up just admiring it through their favorite stereoscope for minutes on end. This was one from my latest acquisition which had this effect on me.
While much is made of Pittsburgh's once-thriving steel industry, the importance of the city's glass industry cannot be understated - in 1900, a single Steel City firm produced 60% of the nation's plate glass. Take a peek inside the PPG facility in Tarentum, PA in 5 fantastic stereoviews from U&U!
Excerpt from rear of card: "This man has a clown dog. Clown dogs are very smart. They are trained to do many tricks. Most clown dogs like to be with the circus even though they do have to work hard."
In the final post in the Month of Remembrance series, we take a look at a merry band of soldiers preparing to "execute" what I've decided to call a "Snowboche" - a simple end to a complex series, much like the Great War itself.
A simple image of a skull intentionally staged in a "tunnel" (trench), accompanied by Wilfred Owen's most complex war poem - set in a tunnel... of sorts.
A look at the Canon de 75 mm Modele 1897, in use for almost a century, and the central role it played in defending the Meuse Heights in 1916 at the Battle of Verdun.
A simple cross sits above a pile of German corpses - in a 1,000-year-old village that was completely leveled in a year, and finally came to be home to the largest military cemetery in France.
As I head out to what I often describe as "a snowbound hellhole" of a hometown to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family, I share an image of soldiers trudging through an *actual* snowbound hellhole on their way to battle.
A new box of slides from Brentano's - stamped "Verdun" on the front - gives me the opportunity to make some side-by-side comparisons of both duplicate and same-subject images from my collection.