Tag Archives: viewer

what a wonderful viewer

Posted on November 4, 2025 by Robert

Toronto. As a little child sitting  in a rocking chair in a dimly lit farmhouse room, I first looked at stereo cards through a Holmes viewer. I was fascinated and thrilled. Scenes leaped out at me as if I was … Continue reading →

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May 2025 PHSC Newsletter issue 25-5

Posted on May 21, 2025 by Robert

  Toronto. Editor Patrick Gunn’s latest opus is now out. It’s another impressive issue! The quality and layout  are impressive – and this is an all volunteer operation. A society like ours relies on volunteers, especially those who come with … Continue reading →

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mighty mouse in stereo

Posted on March 28, 2025 by Robert

Toronto. At our fall 1996 fair, the late Bob Lansdale took a number of interesting items back to his ‘mini studio’ and photographed them for issue 22-4 of the journal. In the case of the tiny viewer at left, Bob … Continue reading →

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revisiting an Italian viewer

Posted on December 24, 2024 by Robert

Toronto. The summer of 2019, I did a post on an Italian knock-off of a focussing slide viewer. The Al Who [L WHOO] mentioned in the above link was the code name for a Leitz 30x magnifier designed for the … Continue reading →

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another viewer for the Monday 8th eclipse …

Posted on April 12, 2024 by Robert

Toronto.  We were fortunate this time that the eclipse was almost a total eclipse of the sun. On the 9th, I showed the inventive side of our journal co-editor. Here we see an equally inventive writer, David Kenny down in … Continue reading →

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catch the wave II

Posted on October 22, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. A recent post, “catch the wave“, spoke of Kodak’s technique to ‘monetize’ the latest popularity of stereo in the 1950s. A brief (very brief) competitor emerged in 1955 – the Delta Stereo by Lennor Engineering Co in Illinois. The … Continue reading →

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seeing double

Posted on July 15, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. “It’s deja vu all over again“, as Yogi Berra was thought to have said. This wonderful old tabletop viewer (stereo, I believe) was offered at the recent auction down in Port Colborne – our first auction outside Toronto and … Continue reading →

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as good as a nod

Posted on June 18, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. So called detective cameras became popular once the speed of dry plate technology allowed hand held use in day light. The camera itself was built into or enclosed by various satchels, leather boxes, purses, etc. At our December, 2003 … Continue reading →

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a view from above

Posted on June 17, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. When the novel Leica camera took off in the 1930s, Leitz created a plethora of accessories to allow the tiny marvel to be used for almost every photographic task. Years earlier, folders and box cameras used a viewfinder where … Continue reading →

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celluloid memories

Posted on April 6, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. The October, 1942 issue of Popular Mechanics magazine has a small article on a little plastic 35mm transparency or film strip viewer. I have a wooden transparency viewer of similar vintage that also uses a frosted screen to spread … Continue reading →

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