Ian Ference's 3D blog on all things stereographic, from classic scopes & stereoviews to historical context & modern analysis
Today we look at the Isle of Man, or Ellan Vannin as it's known to the speakers of its native zombie language, Manx Gaelg. A small island in the Irish Sea, this self-governing Crown dependency was the first place in the world where women could vote in national elections - and boasts the world's oldest parliamentary body. Come take a look!
On this week's Sunday Travels, we're in for a pleasant surprise - Keystone View Company not only created a number of pretty great stereoviews, but they treated their subjects with respect. A stark contrast to Australia and most of The Netherlands, we'll look at the likely explanation for the nice stereography and barely-racist text.
Sunday Travels is back - with a ridiculous look at Australia, courtesy of KVC. The only thing more common than kangaroos in this set of stereoviews is stereotyping - at which Keystone excelled. Some come aboard, and see all the excitement of 'roos, sheep, and a really big rock!
With a heavy-duty post inbound this coming Sunday, let's put on our anoraks and head on down to the railyards - because it's time for a bit of trainspotting with Stanley Long and company!
For our final Sunday in The Netherlands, we're back in Amsterdam - about half a century before Raumbild's "Holland". Expect canals, wooden shoes, quaint street scenes - and a couple of really great stereoviews from KVC!
We've looked at some great VistaScreen, some interesting VistaScreen, and some just plain silly VistaScreen on this blog. But here, we're going to look at the absolute dregs of VistaScreen - which also happens to be one of the most popular sets the company produced during its mid-period in the late 1950s.
In this installment of Sunday Travels, we take a look at Delft, The Hague, and Leiden - all in the areas around last week's subject, Rotterdam. These views prove to be far more superior, as they spend less time buying into stereotypes, and more time actually capturing their subjects.
Douglas Adams hated Heathrow Airport. My wife likes it. Somewhere in between these points of view, there was the 1950s "London Airport", as captured here by VistaScreen. In this essay, we'll explore the nature of documentary stereography that was probably boring when shot but has become more interesting with the passage of time.
Doctor A. O. Fasser took this 3D photo of two men fixing up a tire on a Nieuport 10, most likely in the spring of 1916. Here we take a look at the sesquiplane, before taking a look at the importance of negatives - both in general, and relative to the Fasser Collection.
In this installment of Sunday Travels, we take a look at Rotterdam, the second-largest city in The Netherlands, through century-old American eyes. We see some gorgeous scenes - and some dubious editorial influence on the part of Keystone View Company.