The place for the most fascinating photographs from history specializing in animating stereoscopic images.
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Union Zouaves of the 114th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment Posing in Camp at Brandy Station
Union Zouaves of the 114th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment posing in camp at Brandy Station, Virginia, 1864. By Timothy O'Sullivan. Animated stereoscopic photograph.
Source.
Militiamen From the Lexington Light Infantry on Parade (1855)
Militiamen from the Lexington Light Infantry on parade in Lexington, Kentucky, c. 1855. Animated stereoscopic photographs.
Source.
Sunday, June 22, 2014
Union General Edward Ord Posing With His Family in Jefferson Davis' Home in Richmond
Union General Edward Ord posing with his family in Jefferson Davis' home in Richmond, Virginia, 1865. The table visible in the background was that on which Robert E. Lee signed the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia. Animated stereoscopic photograph.
Source.
Saturday, June 21, 2014
A Crowd Waiting to See the Prince of Wales/Edward VII Near Boston Common
A crowd waiting to see the Prince of Wales, later Edward VII, near Boston Common during his trip to the United States, Boston, 1860. Animated stereoview.
Source.
Confederate POWs at a Temporary Prison Camp in the "Punch Bowl" at Belle Plain, Virginia (1864)
Two animated time-lapse stereoscopic photographs of Confederate POWs at a temporary Union prison camp in the "Punch Bowl" at Belle Plain, Virginia, 1864. The photos were taken on a single plate with a 4-lens camera in which the paired stereoscopic images were taken seconds apart. Inspired by the NPSFRSP blog post here.
Source.
The four stereoscopic photographs combined together into a looped film. |
Self-portrait Taken by George S. Irish Using a Polished Metal Globe at the Fort William Henry Hotel
Self-portrait of George S. Irish using a polished metal globe at the Fort William Henry Hotel in Glen's Falls, New York, c. 1870's. Animated stereoview.
Source.
Friday, June 20, 2014
Union Zouaves of the 5th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment Posing in Camp Hamilton Near Fort Monroe, Virginia (1861)
Union Zouaves of the 5th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment posing in Camp Hamilton near Fort Monroe, Virginia, 1861. By George Stacy. Animated stereoview.
Source.
Thursday, June 19, 2014
American Soldiers Evacuating a Wounded Man During the Meuse-Argonne Offensive
American soldiers carrying a wounded man to the rear during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, 1918. Animated stereoview.
Saturday, June 14, 2014
The Interior of the D. Appleton & Company's Stereoscopic Shop on Broadway (1859)
The interior of D. Appleton & Company's stereoscopic shop on Broadway, New York City, c. 1859. Animated stereoview.
Source.
Friday, June 13, 2014
Italian Bersaglieri Soldiers Posing on the Deck of the Italian Royal Navy Ship Re Galantuomo in New York Harbor (1862)
Converted black and white version. |
Italian Bersaglieri soldiers posing on the deck of the Italian Royal Navy ship Re Galantuomo in New York Harbor, 1862. Animated stereoview.
Source: New York Public Library.
A Union Encampment at Blackburn's Ford
A Union encampment at Blackburn's Ford, July 4, 1862. By Timothy O'Sullivan. Animated stereoscopic photograph.
Source.
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Alleged Photographs of German Skirmishers Advancing Towards a French Position at La Moncelle During the Battle of Sedan
There has been a lot of discussion of
these photographs online about whether or not they are authentic combat
photographs from the Franco-Prussian War. At the moment I think they are images from some sort of elaborate recreation
that were made to sell postcards or else some other attempt to document
the conflict by photographing a reenactment. If these photographs were
real, the hardest thing to explain would be the position of the
photographer as he would have been in an extremely exposed position. What I
once thought were French soldiers in the second and third photographs in
the foreground are actually clearly firing towards the photographer in
sharper versions of the photographs I have found, which would mean that they are more German soldiers. There doesn't
seem to be any blurring in the photographs caused by movement of the
soldiers which was a common trait in photos of the era and could be a sign that the photographs are posed. Cameras with fast exposure times which would minimize
any blurring existed at the time but their use was not very
widespread.
The first photograph. |
What I have deemed the first photograph is on a postcard that is said
to show lines of German skirmishers advancing towards a French position
at La Moncelle during the Battle of Sedan in 1870. A few fascinating
details that are discernible in this photograph are the trail of what
some think is blood flowing from a spot next to the doorway of the house
in the foreground, the bullet holes visible in the same house, the
columns of German soldiers marching down the road, and the large amount
of smoke rising in the distance to the left. I have also assembled seven related photographs below, possibly for the first time online, that were
taken at the same event:
Uncropped lower resolution version of the photograph from Getty. Source. |
The second photograph. Source. |
Uncropped lower resolution version of the second photograph from Getty. Source. |
The third photograph. Source. |
A third photograph taken from what looks like the same position as the second image. The German soldiers in the foreground look like they are clearly aiming their rifles in the direction of the photographer. There seems to have been at least three other versions of postcards featuring this photograph I have collected below.
A second version that is sharper but cropped. Source. |
A third cropped version. Source. |
A fourth uncropped version that has much less detail. Source. |
What looks like the same house today in La Moncelle which is featured in all of the photographs. Source. |
Animated Stereoview of Civilian Volunteers Making Doughnuts for American Soldiers
Civilian volunteers making doughnuts for American soldiers during the Occupation of the Rhineland, Montabaur, c. 1919. Animated stereoview.
Thursday, June 5, 2014
Animated Stereoscopic Portrait of President Abraham Lincoln (1865)
Animated stereoscopic portrait of President Abraham Lincoln, February 1865. By Lewis Emory Walker.
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
President Abraham Lincoln Animated Stereoscopic Portrait (1865)
Animated stereoscopic portrait of President Abraham Lincoln, February 5, 1865. A recently rediscovered stereoscopic negative which was one of the last photographs taken of Lincoln. By Alexander Gardner or Moses P. Rice.
Source.
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
German Infantry Assaulting a French-held Le Mort Homme during the Battle of Verdun (1916)
Source.
The Wreckage of a Steam Locomotive in the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad Depot (1865)
Union soldiers and civilians posing with the wreckage of a steam locomotive in the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad depot in Richmond, Virginia, 1865. Animated stereoscopic photographs.
Source.
Display of Zoological Specimens at the Royal College of Surgeons (1852)
A display of zoological specimens at the Royal College of Surgeons, London, 1852. Animated stereoscopic daguerreotypes.
Source.