21/06/2026
The stereoscope, a device that creates the illusion of three-dimensional images, was first presented to the Royal Society by Charles Wheatstone on this day in 1838. To mark the anniversary, the Griffith Institute is joining the Brian May Archive of Stereoscopy in celebrating the fifth International Stereoscopy Day.
In 2018, the Griffith Institute Archive accessioned a collection of 50 stereoscopic glass positives depicting views of Egypt (c. 1900–1914), together with a handwritten index and a Gaumont stereoscopic viewer, all acquired at auction. The creator of these images remains unknown, and we would be delighted to hear from anyone who may be able to shed light on their origin.
Each slide measures 130 × 60 mm. The collection includes views of Alexandria, Cairo, the pyramids at Giza, Luxor Temple, the Valley of the Kings, and Aswan. Dating from around 1900–1914, these images are unusual because they are transparent black-and-white positives that must be illuminated from behind in order to be viewed. The accompanying Gaumont viewer was designed for exactly this purpose.
Shown here are the viewer and two slides, presented as parallel-view stereo pairs, together with their handwritten descriptions.
For guidance on free-viewing these parallel stereoscopic images on a computer screen, see this tutorial:
https://stereoscopy.blog/2019/08/04/how-to-view-stereoscopic-3-d-images-basic-tutorial/
