Rusty in 3D using Polaroid colour film and a Leitz stereo adaptor for an old Leica
Toronto. Before television ever existed and even before movies gained any traction, we had stereo B&W cards made by Underwood & Underwood. As a child in the mid 1940s, I remember visiting a relative’s farm near-by and being enthralled by a basket of stereo cards and a viewer while the grown-ups talked in the next room. Originally the cards were intended as entertainment, travelogues, and educational accompaniment.
The other day I received an email from member Jeff Ward in Halifax N.S. Jeff recounts in the email. “I am sharing a recent CBC news item from St. John’s NL (below) because it may be of stereo-photographic interest.
“It is about a mystery being solved by a CBC reporter to determine the name of the photographer who visited a number of outport communities in Newfoundland around 1911, resulting in a fascinating series of about 40 stereoviews. The reporter determined that the images were likely created at the behest of a Methodist organizer from Ontario named Frederick Clark Stephenson (1864-1941) who had once worked as an agent in Canada for Underwood and Underwood. He intended the stereos as a way to show would-be missionaries what it was like in the outports.
“The CBC reporter thinks she has hit a brick wall, but I am just wondering whether members of PHSC or stereo collectors may know who U&U’s photographers were, and who it might possibly have been that was sent to Newfoundland. The images are quite nicely done.”
If you can assist, drop me a line at info@phsc.ca and I will pass it along. And remember to visit our events this year. You never know but there might be a stereo gadget or special card just for your collection!
NB. The post title is a riff on an old song, “Under the Double Eagle“. The song (march) is played here by the US Navy Band, I first heard it on an Audiophile recording I bought that used 33 1/3 stereo technology and a speed of 78 rpm (about 10-15 minutes per side of a 12 inch LP).
