Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
Guide to the World War I Stereograph Collection
MSS-2011-02-15
View entire collection guide
Search this collection
Table of contents
Title: World War I Stereograph Collection
Dates: 1914-1917
Collection number: MSS-2011-02-15
Collection Size:
6 boxes
(3 linear feet)
Repository:
San José State University. Library.
San José, California 95192-0028
Abstract: The World War I Stereograph collection consists of 300 stereograph cards featuring scenes from WWI. These stereograph cards
feature graphic battle scenes, trench warfare, war strategy, military aircraft, weaponry, and key WWI leaders such as Raymond
Poincare, President of the French Republic, Joseph Joffre, Commander-in-Chief of the French Army, and Sir Douglas Haig, Commander
of the British Armies in France . Many of the scenes featured in the collection were taken in France. A Stereograph is included
in the last box of the collection.
Physical location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
The collection is open for research.
Copyright is not assigned to the San José State University Special Collections & Archives. All requests for permission to
publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Special Collections. Permission for publication
is given on behalf of the Special Collections & Archives. Copyright restrictions may apply to digital reproductions of the
original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes. The collection resides in the
public domain.
World War I Stereograph Collection, MSS-2011-02-15, San José State University Library Special Collections & Archives.
Collection processed by Lisa Zakharova. Finding aid EAD encoded by Lisa Zakharova. Reviewed by Danelle Moon.
Stereographs became a very popular entertainment medium from the 1850s to the 1930s, though a few companies continued to produce
stereographic images until the 1970s. Many different photographic processes were used to produce stereographs, including dauerreotypes,
ambrotypes, wet plate glass positives, salt paper prints, albumen prints, and gelatin prints. Stereographs were formed of
two images placed side by side and mounted on cardboard. They were commonly produced with cameras that had two lenses side
by side. Stereographic cards were produced in the millions by photographers all over the world. Invented in England, the novelty
and attraction of stereograph formats spread across Europe and the United States.
Stereographs provided a very popular entertainment medium predating television and film. Keystone and Underwood produced stereographic
sets packaged in box sets with spines that resembled classic book bindings, accompanied by descriptive guide books written
by recognized scholars, copyrighted maps depicting the exact location of the photograph, and the arrangement of sets by subject
intended for primary and secondary school instruction. Stereographic views cover a diverse range of subjects and include topographic
views, local history, events, industries and trade, urban and country life, portraits of famous people, and the production
of box sets of World War I and World War II. The box sets ranged in size from 50 to 200 images per box, and were viewed through
a stereoscope, which produced a unique three-dimensional (3-D) effect.
Scope and Content of Collection
The World War I Stereograph collection consists of 300 stereograph cards featuring scenes from WWI. These stereograph cards
feature graphic battle scenes, trench warfare, war strategy, military aircraft, weaponry, and key WWI leaders such as Raymond
Poincare, President of the French Republic, Joseph Joffre, Commander-in-Chief of the French Army, and Sir Douglas Haig, Commander
of the British Armies in France. Many of the scenes featured in the collection were taken in France. A Stereograph is included
in the last box of the collection.
This single series collection is arranged by stereocard number.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
World War I
Military history.