The Vintage 3D Photos That Showed Americans the Reality of War

The beauty of a photograph is that it holds our 3D reality within the confines of a 2D frame. It showcases a fraction of one’s truth, but also helps to keep our memories intact, in ways we can’t imagine. While over the years, there have been the invention of many photography techniques and formats, there is one that truly seems like a predecessor to the modern 3D process, the stereograph. Here is a look at how the photo format grew and how it played a role during the American Civil War.

Discovered in the mid-19th century, a stereograph allowed two images to be seen side by side on stiff cardboard. The photograph would look flat to the naked eye, but when one uses a stereoscope, these still-life pictures sprang to life in 3D. In many ways, this was not a technique but a format that depended on the creation of Sir Charles Wheatstone. For the unitary, Wheatstone was a British physicist who showcased what a stereoscope is in 1839. And a decade later, Sir David Brewster shrank the massive device, which allowed people to see 3D photos outside of the laboratory.

Interestingly, one could create a stereograph using glass plate negatives, as well as daguerreotypes and ambrotypes. In addition to the photos, each carried a caption that provided information about the scene, the photographer’s name, the publisher’s name, and the year.

In 1851, Queen Victoria saw the invention at the Crystal Palace exhibition, which helped stereographs to get a place of their own in the Victorian era. After the English began to produce stereograph cards, the Americans also joined the craze, especially after Oliver Wendell Holmes, an American surgeon and author. He created a cost-effective sterescope, which he did not patent, and which could be created with ease. Soon after, stereoscopes were available everywhere, and by 1856, the Stereoscopic Company in London listed 10,000 different models, and within the next six years, the number reached a million.

It was also this time when the United States had its own problems, particularly the Civil War. At the time, the only available “mass media” that helped to carry out photos from the battlefield to home was the stereograph. Photographers such as Mathew Brady’s corps followed the military and captured the scene. The cameras they used had twin negatives and lenses, which were about 2.5 inches apart to imitate human eyesight. The final result showcased artillery moving across mud, engineers building corduroy log roads, and enslaved people trying to reach Rappahannock to reach the Union lines. Some images were graphic in nature, showcasing dead soldiers, while others were used as propaganda during the war. In fact, it is estimated that approximately 5 million photos were created during this period.

While the stereograph played a critical role like any other invention, its golden age declined over time. By the 1890s, the market was saturated, and photographic postcards had become the new norm. Other media, such as phonographs, nickelodeons, and finally radio, further took over. The last wave of stereographs was in the 1920s, when maetrurs were using this for their need.

Today, virtual reality is pretty huge, but one can’t forget the contribution of the stereograph in this. In fact, in a day and age where scrolling is the norm, it would be beneficial if we could revive the practice so that people are able to sit with images more often. And in doing so, we appreciate images in ways we have forgotten.