Stereoview photograph collection
Abstract
This collection contains 3 boxes of stereoview photographs arranged by subject, filing sequentially in an arbitrarily imposed numerical catalog order. Most subjects include sites, structures, and events in Baltimore, Maryland, including buildings, celebrations, parades, church buildings, disasters, harbor and other views, industries, markets, monuments, parks, squares, cemeteries, monuments, railroads, and schools. The collection also includes items by Maryland photographers and publishers from Baltimore, Annapolis, Frederick, Hagerstown, and Cumberland. Subjects from other United States locations include the Civil War, railroads, and views including Warren, Massachusetts. The dates of the collection span 1860-1912.
Dates
- 1860-1912
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research use.
Conditions Governing Use
The reproduction of materials in this collection may be subject to copyright restrictions. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine and satisfy copyright clearances or other case restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the collections. For more information visit the MCHC’s Rights and Permissions page.
Historical Note
Stereoview photographs (also called stereographs) are two photographs taken of the same view from slightly different angles, then mounted side by side onto cards; when the images are viewed with a special viewer, they appear as one, seemingly three-dimensional image. Stereographs were produced continuously during the years 1851-1940, enjoying varying degrees of popularity during that period.
The phenomena was discovered in the early years of photography, and stereoview photographs were produced commercially by the 1850s, along with the instruments for viewing the images, known as stereoscopes. One stereoscope, a hand-held model which became very popular, was designed by Oliver Wendell Holmes at the end of the 1850s. There were also box-type viewers which sat on a table, and models which could hold several hundred views, using a belt to move the cards through. Stereoscopes and views were often sold by opticians, such as Franklin and Co. at 217 W. Baltimore St., where both were available.
Oliver Wendell Holmes was a stereoview enthusiast, calling at one point for the establishment of stereoview libraries, and coining the term "stereograph". He said, "With the Stereoscope by our fireside on a winters evening, we can walk through the sunny vineyards of Italy; from our arm-chair look down upon Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. We can wander through the cities of foreign lands, look upon their wonders of architecture". While such exotic subjects were popular, people were also interested in the places and events in their own regions, and in events of national significance such as wars, disasters, and international exhibitions. Other types of views were those with elaborate theatrical tableaus depicting comical or sentimental subjects.
Extent
1.25 Linear Feet (3 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
The photographs are organized by subject in a scheme that incorporates a geographic element. The subjects are arranged with Baltimore subjects first, followed by Maryland subjects outside Baltimore, subjects outside Maryland, and subjects outside the United States. Subjects with no single geographic focus are at the end.
Items with corresponding duplicate/copy negatives are enumerated at end of each subject.
Each subject has been assigned a PP catalog number, as listed here, and each item has a unique number for identification purposes, e.g. PP1.5.1, PP1.5.2, PP1.5.3, etc.
PP1.1 Buildings (Baltimore, Md.)
PP1.2 Celebrations or Parades (Baltimore, Md.)
PP1.3 Church buildings (Baltimore, Md.)
PP1.4 Disasters (Baltimore, Md.)
PP1.5 Harbor (Baltimore, Md.)
PP1.6 Industries (Baltimore, Md.)
PP1.7 Markets (Baltimore, Md.)
PP1.8 Monuments (Baltimore, Md.)
PP1.9 Parks, Squares, and Cemeteries (Baltimore, Md.) (except Druid Hill Park)
PP1.10 Parks, Squares and Cemeteries: Druid Hill Park (Baltimore, Md.)
PP1.11 Schools (Baltimore, Md.)
PP1.12 Streetcars (Baltimore, Md.)
PP1.13 Streets (Baltimore, Md.)
PP1.14 Towers (Baltimore, Md.)
PP1.15 Views (Baltimore, Md.)
PP1.16 Buildings (Maryland)
PP1.17 Church buildings (Maryland)
PP1.18 Industries (Maryland)
PP1.19 Military (Maryland)
PP1.20 Monuments (Maryland)
PP1.21 Railroads (Maryland)
PP1.22 Schools (Maryland)
PP1.23 Views (Maryland)
PP1.24 Civil War (United States)
PP1.25 Railroads (United States)
PP1.26 Views (United States, except Warren, Mass.)
PP1.27 Views (Warren, Mass.)
PP1.28 Other subjects (outside United States)
PP1.29 Other subjects (unspecified location)
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Present collection assembled from several accessions.
Scope and Contents
The collection consists of 3 boxes containing approx. 523 stereoview photoprints mounted on cards. Ranging in date from ca. 1860-1912, included subjects are Baltimore and Maryland buildings, churches, parks, monuments, streets, and events including celebrations and disasters; the Maryland National Guard 5th Regiment at camps in Maryland and New Jersey; views along the routes of various railroads in the region; the Civil War, including battle fields, cemeteries, monuments, and ruins at sites in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia; and the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, 1876. There is also a set of comical and theatrical subjects, and a group of sites in Warren, Mass.
Publishers and photographers represented in the collection include the following: From Baltimore: Richard Walzl; W.M. Chase; Chase and Bachrach; G.W. Robinson; E.V. Daily; XLNT Views; Van Wagner and Dyer; and C. Garwood. From elsewhere in Maryland: C.H. Hopkins (Annapolis, Md.); Markens and Bielfeld (Frederick, Md.); E.M. Recher (Hagerstown, Md.); and Bishop Brothers (Cumberland, Md.). From outside Maryland or unspecified locations: J.W. and J.S. Moulton (Salem, Mass.); E. and H.T. Anthony and Co. (New York, N.Y.); H.C. White (N. Bennington, Vt.); Keystone View Co. (Meadville, Pa. and other locations); Underwood and Underwood (New York, N.Y. and other locations); Kilburn Brothers (Littleton, N.H.); Geo. W. Kirk (Huntington, W. Va.); Mumper and Co. (Gettysburg, Pa.); W.H. Tipton and Co. (Gettysburg, Pa.); H. Ball (Walpole, N.H.); George Barker (Niagara Falls, N.Y.); W. Long (Cape May, N.J.); J.A. Williams (Newport, R.I.); Andersons (Richmond, Va.); James Cremer (Philadelphia, Pa.); Centennial Photographic Co. (Philadelphia, Pa.); C.H. Lanphear (Warren, Mass.); T.B. Boothroyd (Auburn, N.Y.); Philp and Solomons (Washington, D.C.); Alex. Gardner; James F. Gibson; and T.H. OSullivan.
- Title
- Guide to the Stereoview photograph collection
- Status
- Under Revision
- Author
- Katherine Cowan
- Date
- 1999-09
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- English
Revision Statements
- 2020-01-14: Manually entered into ArchivesSpace by Mallory Herberger.
Repository Details
Part of the H. Furlong Baldwin Library Repository
H. Furlong Baldwin Library
Maryland Center for History and Culture
610 Park Avenue
Baltimore MD 21201 United States
4106853750
specialcollections@mdhistory.org