My stereoscopic ones

[Dany]

Hello

I have a particular soft spot for stereoscopic cameras. These devices are usually sold at quite high prices. However, during last years, I was lucky enough to find some at more than reasonable prices.
I'd like to show you some of them that joined my collection over the last few years. I propose to do this in stages, adding a couple of cameras to this post from time to time (if I see that the subject is of some interest to you).
I propose to go from the oldest to the recent ones


I'm going to start with the series of stereoscopic cameras from a French manufacturer called Jules Richard.
These devices were called ‘Glyphoscopes’. They were created around 1905.
Glyphoscopes were simple, well-built and, above all, ingenious devices.
In fact, the front part containing the shutter and part of the optics could be detached from the rear part with a simple click, and the rear part could then be used as a stereo viewer.
The format of the photosensitive plates used was 45 x 107 mm.
The commercial life of the glyphoscopes have been quite long and multiple variations have been proposed

I have only 4 versions of these that I'd like you to discover:

Glyphoscope type 1:
The rear part of the body of the Glyphoscope type 1 is made of a moulded material called ‘ivoirine’ (some sort of bakelite). The model and manufacturer’s names are visible on the rear part

Glyphoscope type 2:
It is similar to the type 1 but inscriptions have a different form

Glyphoscope type 3:
The rear part of the body is made of wood and covered with imitation leather
I found a black one and a scarce dark green one.

If you are interested to see the rest of my collection please let me know and I will add new items in this post.

 

[cgw]

FYI:

Photographer Buys 113-Year-Old Stereo Camera and Develops the Ancient Film It Came With

Developing old film is really, really hard.

petapixel.com

 

[Thomas V]

Hello

I have a particular soft spot for stereoscopic cameras. These devices are usually sold at quite high prices. However, during last years, I was lucky enough to find some at more than reasonable prices.
I'd like to show you some of them that joined my collection over the last few years. I propose to do this in stages, adding a couple of cameras to this post from time to time (if I see that the subject is of some interest to you).
I propose to go from the oldest to the recent ones


I'm going to start with the series of stereoscopic cameras from a French manufacturer called Jules Richard.
These devices were called ‘Glyphoscopes’. They were created around 1905.
Glyphoscopes were simple, well-built and, above all, ingenious devices.
In fact, the front part containing the shutter and part of the optics could be detached from the rear part with a simple click, and the rear part could then be used as a stereo viewer.
The format of the photosensitive plates used was 45 x 107 mm.
The commercial life of the glyphoscopes have been quite long and multiple variations have been proposed

I have only 4 versions of these that I'd like you to discover:

Glyphoscope type 1:
The rear part of the body of the Glyphoscope type 1 is made of a moulded material called ‘ivoirine’ (some sort of bakelite). The model and manufacturer’s names are visible on the rear part


View attachment 280652


View attachment 280653


Glyphoscope type 2:
It is similar to the type 1 but inscriptions have a different form


View attachment 280654


View attachment 280655


View attachment 280656


Glyphoscope type 3:
The rear part of the body is made of wood and covered with imitation leather
I found a black one and a scarce dark green one.


View attachment 280658


View attachment 280657

If you are interested to see the rest of my collection please let me know and I will add new items in this post.

First of all...congratulations on that find!! I really picture myself exploring different cameras like this! Sometimes the older the better is my guide.

 

[Dany]

Thank you Thomas for your kind reply

 

[webestang64]

Super cool stuff! Interesting that the type 3 has wood parts.

 

[Dany]

Thank you webestang 64

Another one now
I would like to introduce you to a rare stereoscopic camera which was produced in small batches circa 1906 by a Parisian manufacturer called Lucien Korsten.

This is the ‘Litote’. An advertisement at the time described it as “The smallest, lightest and most practical stereoscopic camera “. At the time, it was available in 45x107 mm and 6x13 cm formats. Mine is the smallest.

The most unusual feature of this camera is the graduated sliding blade with holes serving as a diaphragm. The blade slides between the two elements of the lens. It shows a double diaphragm graduation (according to two standards).

The body of the camera is made of wood covered with morocco leather and the front is made of painted brass.
Three shutter speeds can be set on the front panel (slow, medium, fast).
The shutter can be released manually or pneumatically (bulb).

 

[webestang64]

What a neat piece. Sliding bar aperture certainly is unique.

 

[Dany]

Another one ?
Ok !
Another of my cameras I'd like to show you was built and marketed by Demaria Lapierre from 1905 to about 1910.

It is a 6x13 cm format stereoscopic jumelle called Caleb
At the time, various stereoscopic Caleb were proposed. Simple ( my camera) or with panoramic possibilities or front shift
Its construction was classic for the time. The shutter is activated by pulling a lever located between the lenses. A rod connects the two lenses for simultaneous aperture adjustment.
Rotating knobs also on th front to select shutter speed and firing delay

The camera is numbered 5994

 

[webestang64]

Very nice! The craftsmanship and details are amazing.

 

[Dany]

I'd like to continue this tour of my shelves with an item that I particularly like.
It a camera created by a French manufacturer called Makenstein.
It is remarkable for its technological strengths, its aesthetics and the care taken in its construction and choice of materials.
Produced between 1905 and 1910, the camera bears the name Francia. It is loaded with 6x13 cm format plates
It can produce two stereoscopic views on a plate or a panoramic view covering the full plate.
Panoramic views are obtained by sliding the front part to one side so that the optical axis of one of the lenses is facing the centre of the plate.
The movement of the front part causes the inner wall separating the two chambers to retract.
The viewfinder configuration can be changed to switch from stereoscopic to panoramic mode.
The camera is equipped with a magazine containing twelve plates.

Stereo mode :

Panoramic mode:

Extracted magazine:

I got it with a pair of yellow gradient filters used at the time to darken the blue of skies

The five speeds shutter fires correctly.

 

[webestang64]

Very interesting piece of engineering.

 

[AlanKlein]

Do you shoot 3D pictures and how do you display them?

 

[Dany]

I did not shoot 3D images with these cameras for the time being. All my time is taken to search them, to clean and to repare them.

 

[Thomas V]

I did not shoot 3D images with these cameras for the time being. All my time is taken to search them, to clean and to repare them.

I find stereo type of photography fascinating to produce!

 

[Dany]

If you're not too tired of this stereoscopic tour in my collection, I'd like to show you two other cameras.

The first one was a considerable commercial success despite its high cost. It was the Verascope, designed and built by Jules Richard and offered for sale between 1913 and c1923.
One century later, many Verascopes are still capable of providing good negatives
The Verascope was a precision camera, made entirely of metal and constructed in silver-plated brass.
It had two viewfinders: a reflex one and a folding optical one. Its magazine contains twelve 45 x 107 mm plates. It is equipped with an automatic frame counter an good lenses. Not bad for its time

The Verascope was produced in a number of variants and remains today a success among vintage camera collectors!

The second camera has been marketed between 1920 and 1930. It was named ‘Jumelle Stéréoscopique No 0’ by its French manufacturer, Gallus.

Its format is 6x13 cm. The front part of the camera can be detached from the body, which then becomes a stereoscopic viewer.