Name/Title
Stereoscopic ViewerContext
In the Upstairs Exhibit Room of the Neill-Cochran House Museum are two pairs of stereoscopes, dated between 1900 and 1930. These wood and metal devices are a bit like today’s 3D glasses: they would have been used to view separate left and right images together as one view.
Stereographs allowed viewers to play adventurers or tourists from home, watching scenes of faraway landmarks and the lives of people abroad. In 1861, Oliver Wendell Holmes created this type of stereoscope, called a Holmes stereoscope. Holmes stereoscopes were handheld and more economical than earlier models. By the 20th century, stereographs were a popular form of photography. Many of these images are from the Keystone View Company, which was offering over 20,000 views by 1905.
These stereoscopes and views were a gift from Dr. Karen Pope and her husband Alex. Can you spot some familiar sites from early Austin? One picture, dated 1860, shows the recently completed Governor’s Mansion. The Neill-Cochran House Museum has 69 of these “stereoscopic views”. You can see them, and all of our artifacts, Wed-Sun, 11-4pm.Acquisition
Accession
2016.03Source or Donor
Karen and Alex PopeAcquisition Method
Gift