Ian Ference's 3D blog on all things stereographic, from classic scopes & stereoviews to historical context & modern analysis
While not as commonly represented in exciting sets of stereoviews, photographs and newsreels from the front - or any media really, standing around and shooting the breeze was as much a part of Great War life as ducking for cover during a bombardment or hastily fitting a gas mask. These were men at war, but foremost, they were men living their lives.
Dr. Fasser's collection came with a twine-bound set of 8 slides marked "Rheims", a common alternate spelling of Reims. But given what's on the slides, he couldn't have made them all himself - so we must examine the evidence to try to suss out whether Fasser ever did photograph Reims.
One of the items in Andrew O. Fasser's collection of stereo slides is a box, which originally held Verascope Richard 6x13 diapositives, simply marked "Belgium". Inside are 16 slides of Great War devastation; the best 8 are examined.
Today, on the centenary of the Great War's effective end with the 11 a.m. Armistice, I present 100 stereographic (and 2D) photographs from a soldier's-eye point of view. Lest we forget.
In which Wilfred Owen's poem is paired with and analyzed beside one of the images from the A. O. Fasser Collection.
An American surgeon left for France in October 1915, returning six months later with stories, knowledge, a sense of horror - and about 500 Great War stereoviews, taken by him with a camera he bought while there and quickly learned to use quite well.
I recently acquired 9 new Great War glass stereoviews from a very generous eBay seller - and present them with captions here.
In a stack of random amateur stereoviews that accompanied a recent Great War purchase on eBay, I was delighted to find this photo that reminded me of some of Diane Arbus's early portraits.