I collect architectural views of New York, mostly stereocards, as well as a few small sub-collections on the New Jersey Palisades and views of Westchester and Rockland Counties, NY.
Above left: New York Trinity Church
(United State of America series) ([probably London]: London
Stereoscopic Co., [1859]). Author's collection. [(Creased) Aerial view
from Trinity Church, a few decades, before the skyscraper changed the
city's profile. Like most pre-1900 aerial views, lacks somewhat in
definition. An unsurpassed selection of these views is in the NYPL
Dennis Collection, below.]
Above right: View from W[estern] U[nion] Telegraph
Building, N.Y. (American Scenery series) ([probably New
York]: n.p., [ca. 1885?]). Author's collection. [Aerial view looking
west towards the Hudson.]
Stereocards, stereoviews, stereographs, or stereo-opticans are double photographic prints on cardboard, mounted in such a way so that they can be viewed in 3-dimensions (or "stereo") when placed in a stereoviewer (or stereoscope). The images are properly taken by a camera with two parallel (binocular) lenses to give dimension. A good functional description and historical outline is at the University of Washington website. (Includes capsule descriptions of Underwood, Keystone, Kilburn, and Continental, but omits the great manufacturer of the 1860s-1870s, E. & H.T. Anthony.) There is also an excellent description of the process (direct link) by Robert Legatt, as well his ambitious history of photography (framed link), written from a British perspective.
Above left: Printing House Square,
N.Y. (Gelatine-Bromide series) (New York: E. & H.T. Anthony,
[ca. 1880]). Author's collection.
[The Anthony Gelatine-Bromide series used an innovative dry-plate
technique. While important in the history of photography, the
Gelatine-Bromide views lack the sharpness of prints made from wet-plate
processes and are thus often neglected by collectors. This is one of
(at least) two views in the series of Printing
House Square, near Park Row. Darrah writes
of some 30 views, but so many variants have appeared on eBay that I'd
guess there must have been 40 or more negatives marketed by Anthony.]
Above right: Park Row from Tryon Row, City Hall Park
on the right, showing the Times Building, and a distant view of St.
Paul's Chapel (Anthony's instantaneous views no. 313) (New York: E.
& H.T. Anthony, [ca. 1868]). Author's collection (Ex-Treadwell).
[The Anthony brothers developed a photographic emulsion which became
the high-speed photography of its day. Photos by competitors show
"ghosting" of moving people and animals, but Anthony's "Instantaneous"
views could capture movement, even on a cloudy day. The Times was
located near Printing House Square. Incidentally, many Anthony views
have the negative number etched onto the plate, as with this one. (See high-resolution
with verso and blow-up of right side.)]
In addition to articles reprinted by the National Stereoscopic Association (below) and available for sale (through the NSA Book Service), the best books are:
Many collectors insist on viewing their stereoviews with stereoviewers, rather than with the unaided eye. (There's something called "Free viewing" that can obtain the three-dimensional effect at no cost, except eye-strain.) You can also buy stereo viewing equipment (stereoviewers, stereoscopes, stereopticans, etc.), either as vintage antiques, or as modern (reproduction) copies. Some of these reproductions can be quite nice and are often purchased by museums and libraries wishing to let the public view stereocards.
These links include sites specializing in selling stereocards. Other sources, not listed here, include general antique dealers, booksellers, flea markets and estate sales.
Above (left three): A
Stereo-graphoscope ([Paris?: Montreal], [s.n.], [ca. 1890]. This
beautiful but odd contraption is a folding box with an embedded
magnifying lens and stereo binoculars for viewing items. It seems like
a good idea, but it wasn't. Paul Wing's book points out problems with
them. Beautiful to look at, but not very useful. The small bone square
(where your nose would go) is a seller's label for a photography
gallery in Montreal. (Apologies for bad cropping of photo.) Author's
collection.
Above (right): Keystone Telebinocular Viewer (plastic and
metal) with book-shaped Stereographic Library volumes I-II box, [s.l.]:
[Keystone Co.],
[ca. 1920]. Click for viewer with box. This viewer was designed to fit
inside a box that looks like a bound volume from a
library. Author's collection.
These links include sites specializing in selling stereocards. Other sources, not listed here, include general antique dealers, booksellers, flea markets and estate sales. Some additional sites are linked from the stereoviews.info site.
Left: Range of the Palisades from the top, looking
North. (The Palisades of the Hudson no. 5961) (New York: E. &
H.T. Anthony, [ca. 1865]). Author's collection.
Right: Hudson River, from Fort Lee, [NJ].
(American Views, New 'H' Series) ([Probably New York?]: n.p.,
[about 1875-1880]). Author's collection.
[Most of the Palisades views in my collection are interesting for what
late 19th C photographers thought beautiful. The one to the left
appears to have been colored with period watercolors (the Anthony
brothers had trained artists, to color scenes). Uncolored versions are
far more common, but collectors tend to prefer uncolored--despite the
fact that colored prints cost more and were considered more
prestigious. This print has seen considerable use, unfortunately. In
addition, you will sometimes find views of people recreating and
enjoying the scenery, like this one. I think the small, fluffy dog held
by the man on the left is a bonus.]
Note: As with book cloth and book binding style, you can use the style of stereocards to date them. William C. Darrah's two books on stereos are excellent on this very subject. Square corners with white mount tend to be earliest. Rounded mount corners hide wear better and come after about 1868 (but there are hold-outs). In the mid to late 1880s, the mounts start curving to enhance the 3-D effect. By the early- to mid- 1890s, almost all cards are moderately to heavily curved. By the turn of the century, with dominance by Keystone and Underwood & Underwood, the heavily curved (or "warped") board is standard, as are long text descriptions printed on verso. -PWR.
Above left: Two stereoviews of the Palisades: Fallen Fragments of the Palisades ([Probably: New York?], n.p., ca. 1870) and Mouth of Spuyten Duyoil [sic] Creek ([Probably: New York?], n.p., ca. 1870). Author's collection.
Above right: Indian Head, looking
south (Palisade Views, Hudson River) (New York, W[illia]m B.
Holmes, ca. 1870). Author's collection.
[I love the aesthetics of the large rocks and so did the 19th
Century--this was a site for picnics, as the boat in the background on
left suggests and as proven by other stereocards showing outings.
Spuyten Duyvil is the narrow stretch of water between Manhattan and the
Bronx, shown in the far distance, across the Hudson. I have variations
of this view, with different titles. I'm not 100% sure, but the lower
left image may be a view on the north edge of "Indian Head" (right), a
huge head-shaped, rock formation blasted into oblivion by quarrymen
around 1900. The right-side view shows the view down the Hudson towards
Manhattan from Indian Head. Its destruction was one of the proximate
causes resulting in demands for preservation of the cliffs and the
formation of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission.]
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