Stereograms

A stereogram, also called a stereograph, is a pair of images placed side-by-side such that one eye viewing each image creates an illusion of three-dimensional depth. The first stereoscope, a device for viewing such images, was created in 1832 by Charles Wheatstone, and stereograms then became incredibly popular in the United States and Europe from the 1850s to 1920s.

All stereograms included in this post are parallel view, and you can learn to free-view them with this guide and some available time.

The Old Z Railroad Track in Summit County Utah, 1869 (approx.) [1]

When stereograms rose in ubiquity, the subject matter overlapped with practically all areas captured in single-frame photography. The distinguishing mass-market appeal for stereograms largely came from their immersive realism. For example, when I view the image of a railroad track above in two dimensions, there is a sense of the location, but when I view it in stereo, I feel that I am standing beside the tracks with the depth giving a much clearer sense of the tracks extending into the distance.

Broad Street, north to the Stock Exchange, New York, 1903 [2]

Likewise, this image of a New York street in 1903 displays depth by the buildings forming a corridor and several carriages standing out in the foreground. By nature of stereograms being distinguished by depth, depth is the distinguishing feature of the stereogram aesthetic. The way in which depth is composed in a scene is vitally important, and stereograms that appear flat or uninteresting compared with a single frame fail to capture the aesthetic. A few more examples follow where I think a stereogram’s depth is used well.

Imposing Cathedral Spires, Garden of the Gods, Colorado, 1905 [3]

In this image of Garden of the Gods, the rocks are framed to stand out in the back left of the image, and the horse and buggy in the front right provide a sense of scale while standing out. 

Great destruction wrought by earthquake and fire, San Francisco, Cal., 1906 [4]

In this image from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the rubble and askew pillar in the foreground frame the farther away background, not to mention the subject matter adding weight to the scene.

Fort Point and Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California, 2023

Clouds From Airplane 2024

These final two images are ones that I have taken, again paying specific attention to the role of depth within the image. While the heyday of stereograms is over a century past, there is nothing stopping one from making stereograms in modern times. Depth plays a role in our experience of the world, and it has been a component of the aesthetic of stereograms.

For anyone wishing to make their own modern day stereograms, I recommend the phone application CrossCam.

Image Sources:

[1] W. H. Jackson, “The Old Z,” USGS. Accessed: Jan. 21, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.usgs.gov/media/stereograms/old-z

[2] U. & Underwood, “Broad Street, north to the Stock Exchange, U.S. Sub-Treasury and Wall Street, New York,” Library of Congress. Accessed: Jan. 21, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/stereo.1s04754

[3] “Imposing Cathedral Spires, Garden of the Gods, Colorado, U.S.A.,” Library of Congress. Accessed: Jan. 22, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/stereo.1s11104

[4] U. & Underwood, “Great destruction wrought by earthquake and fire–showing Temple Emanuel–San Francisco, Cal.,” Library of Congress. Accessed: Jan. 21, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/stereo.1s48513

Information Sources:

[5] “Stereograph Cards – Background and Scope,” Library of Congress. Accessed: Jan. 21, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/stereo/background.html

[6] “History of photography – Stereoscopic, Daguerreotype, Calotype | Britannica.” Accessed: Jan. 21, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.britannica.com/technology/photography/Development-of-stereoscopic-photography

[7] S. Magazine and C. Thompson, “Stereographs Were the Original Virtual Reality,” Smithsonian Magazine. Accessed: Jan. 21, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/sterographs-original-virtual-reality-180964771/