{E-MERGING PROJECT}

Re-enlivening an extinct analog photographic technique

What is a Stereograph?

A Stereograph is a pair of photographic images on a single support that, when viewed through a special pair of lenses named, stereoscope, gives the appearance of a single image as having depth and solidity - a three dimensional effect. The standard format of a stereograph is a pair of photographs mounted next to each other on a piece of stiff card. The photographs are not exactly the same, even though both images are taken at the same time. The camera simulates the separation between the eyes and generates images with a slight lateral shift. The distance between the two lenses is 2 1/2 inches (6.3 cm) exactly as the distance between the centers of two human eyes.

The photographs are usually albumen prints and are glued against a colorful paper and around the margins the card bears the name of the photographer’s and/or publisher’s name(s) and a title. The same information is often also included on the back portion of the card.

America’s Past-time

Introduced commercially in the United States in 1854, for the next half a century it became a way of life in popular culture. From 1850’s to 1930’s stereoscopic photography became a sensation. not unlike movies, radio and television that would follow it, stereoscopic photographs became a favorite past time.

A vast market was created with numerous photographers and eventually publishing houses exclusively dedicated to stereoscopic views. Many were created with the tourist market in mind and were sold in bookshops, stations and hotels. But these publishing houses had copious catalogs with various themes: from topographic views, the main field in which stereoscope was used,  and images of exotic lands and peoples, including nudes.

The popularity of stereoscopes is revealed when looking at statistics as the ones presented in the book: “Stereo Views - A history of stereographs in America and their collection”. Between 1858 and 1920 it is estimated that four million different stereographs were produced in America. In the year 1862 alone, two publishing houses in Europe produced almost two million stereoscopic views.  The distribution of these views was assured by broad exchange agreements between photographers across nations.

Believe it or not, photographic postcards adopted as a standard size by the postal service in 1907, became the main competitor of stereographs. 677,777,798 postcards were mailed through the U.S. Postal Service from July 1st, 1907 to June 30th, 1908, Becoming the greatest collectible hobby that the world had ever known. Access to the exotic and remote was at one time accessed through stereographs, but now there was also moving pictures and radio for entertainment. By the 1930’s, publishers and photographers saw stereocards as no longer a viable a commercial enterprise.

Find me a stereoscopic photographer !

It is estimated that between 1859 and 1889, there were 6,000 known American Stereographers out of 15,000 active photographers across the country.

Only seven local individuals were actively producing stereographic images in New Jersey in the Monmouth County region. This project will focus on two these photographers: Colwell Lane and David N. Carvalho who establish the New Jersey Stereoscopic View Company between 1872 and 1876.  

The New Jersey Stereoscopic Views Co.

Between 1872 and 1876, New Jersey Stereoscopic Views Company was formed by photographers Colwell Lane and David N. Carvalho. It is estimated that during the brief four years of existence, New Jersey Stereoscopic Views Co. produced about 200 local views which only about a dozen have been located during a detailed survey of Monmouth County Stereoscopic views published in 1971 by George H. Moss Jr.. This makes it even more relevant to highlight the holdings at New York Public Library Digital Collection attributed to this New Jersey company. 

Born in 1848, David N. Carvalho he most likely learned this trade from his father with whom he shared interest in the study of light and in photography. Solomon N. Carvalho was an artist and daguerreotypist who owned a “Portrait, Porcelain, Miniature and Photographic Gallery” located at 765 Broadway in New York City. Solomon N. Carvalho is the first known jewish photographer. According to a catalog created by “The Jewish Historical Society of Maryland in the occasion of a 1989 exhibition dedicated to Carvalho’s artistic endeavors: “only in the United States could the first Jewish photographer have emerged, for only there existed the combination of relative tolerance of Jews, particularly enlightened cities (Charleston and Philadelphia) where Jews could receive exposure to and some training in the Fine Arts, and an intellectual atmosphere which encouraged very broad participation in the scientific discoveries of the day.”

Solomon focused his efforts in earning a living and reputation as a painter and didn’t develop a successful career as a commercial photographer: “Despite his fame as a field photographer, he never embarked on any similar ventures for the purpose of making scenic photographs for sale. He neglected entirely the stereograph, the most popular format for the mass distribution of scenic photographs in the late 1850’s and 1860’s. (...) His photographic efforts at this period were to, perhaps (...) teach his son David the fundamentals of the technique”.

David N. Carvalho would exercised similar creative freedom as his father using exactly the technique his father rejected: in 1872, he became a manager at the New Jersey Stereoscopic Company. In this role David might’ve photographed some of the stereo views but most of his time was most likely spent supervising the production and distribution of the stereoscopic cards. All evidence points to his partner, Colwell Lane, as being the primary photographer. 

The carefully composed images created by Lane resulted in stereoscopes of superior quality than his competitors: “few reached the technical excellence evidenced in Lane’s efforts. It should be understood that the mere use of a stereoscopic camera is no guarantee pictures will contain good three-dimensional qualities.” 

Colwell Lane was a skilled photographer who began his career in photography by opening his own studio circa 1866 where he was a prolific producer of Cartes-de-Visite and quality ferrotypes. He deserved the self-title of “photographic artist” which he included in his Cartes-de-Visite. Over twenty three variations of these business cards were found indicating that Colwell Lane had a prolific photographic career. 

By 1876, the partnership of Lane and Carvalho dissolved. Eventually both photographers established their own separate photography enterprises in New York City. Colwell Lane operated his studio in Manhattan from 1888 to 1890.

After closing New Jersey Stereoscopic Views Co., David N. Carvalho sustained  various temporary studio locations, following the trend of photography in uptown Manhattan. In 1877, he opened his first studio which was located at the Carvalho’s household; the following studios remained quite near his father’s residence. David named his business “Carvalho”, probably an indication of lack of business independence from his father who most likely ambled over from time to time to give his son paternal advice. David produced Cartas-de-Visite and cabinet cards with some degree of success and sustained a commercial photography career for the next 10 years. Eventually he became an expert in the study of handwriting and inks, to which studies he was dedicated for the rest of his life.

Who needs a Stereoscope if you have Google Cardboard?

Stereographs originally had to be paired with a stereoscope in order to generate the three dimension effect intended. But you can replicate the “lifelike effect” Sir David Brewster envisioned by viewing original stereoscopic images on a cellphone device and pairing it with google cardboard. Not surprising since, the stereoscope is the grandfather of VR goggles of today.

Both techniques rely on the same principle of physics: “the two eyes see slightly different images when directed at a given object”. Our stereoscopic vision merge the parallel images into one and create the 3D effect originally intended.

All you need to experience the 3D effect is to grab a cellphone device and pair it with a google cardboard viewer.

to build your own viewer all you need are a few everyday items you can find in your garage, online, or at your local hardware store: cardboard, lenses, magnets, hook and loop fastener and a rubber band.

how to look at stereographs. Yes, there is a trick.

Would you like to try? I arranged Six images from the Stereoscopic View Collection from the New York Public Library Digital Collection and sequenced into a quick video so you can experience the 3D effect the photographers at the New Jersey Stereoscopic Views Company created over a century ago. 

Just open this video on your cellphone device and position it inside google cardboard as instructed. Start playing the video, and make sure you are displaying it in full screen. 

Look straight at the screen and slowly move the viewer towards you or away from you, until the pair of photographs on the screen blend into one three-dimensional picture. The goal is to merge the two images you see on the screen. Keep cellphone and google cardboard parallel without tipping at an angle. Relax your eyes and do not force yourself to focus. Now, just enjoy the view. 

What else can you do with digitized Stereographic collections?

In the 1990’s the relevancy of The Robert N. Dennis Collection of Stereoscopic Views collection was confirmed when NYPL digitized 12,000 stereographic views and present it as the first large-scale digital image collection made available to the public on the internet. 

In addition, NYPL made an incredible effort to bring three-dimensionality back into its Stereoscopic collection.  Since 2012, NYPL’s website allows visitors to experience the stereoscopic views not only as static photographs but through the project Stereogranimator, users can generate animated GIF files from stereoscopic collections from across the country. The flickering images in GIF format attempt to emulate the original 3D effect of the stereoscope technology. This is an an engaging and generous public domain element offered by NYPL given users the ability to share their creations on social media platforms.

But I still enjoy the authenticity sustained by looking at static images through a viewer. I believe, Google Cardboard gives a closer experience to what using an original stereoscope felt like.