Glass stereoviews with images of the First World War are not rare, but a complete set of an original purchase with its documents is rare. This collection consists of a wooden box with two hundred slides in the 6x13cm format, a hand-held stereoscope, the original invoice and two catalogs. The stereoviews are published by La… Continue reading Collection La Stéréoscopie Universelle
Category: The Great War
Platoscope
The Platoscope is a basic stereocamera that was made by an unknown manufacturer and sold by Photo-Plait. The camera was introduced during the First World War as a “sensational novelty”[1]. With its products and services, Photo-Plait focused on the soldiers at the front. The Platoscope was promoted with the slogan “for the soldier and the… Continue reading Platoscope
The stereoviews of Alfred Charbonnier
The archive of the Section Photographique de l’Armée (SPA) contains 539 albums[1] with photos categorized by location or theme. The collection is now known as Album Valois, named after the location of the SPA archive at Rue de Valois in Paris[1]. The albums Meuse contain a series of photos of the battle of Verdun. At… Continue reading The stereoviews of Alfred Charbonnier
Coin stereoscope
A coin operated stereoscope with a nameplate of La Stéréoscopie Universelle, one of the largest publishers of World War I stereoviews in France. The stereoscope is manufactured by Mattey[1]. It’s a simple revolving stereoscope with lenses that cannot be focused and the distance between the lenses is not adjustable. What makes this device special is… Continue reading Coin stereoscope
The Nevers 1914 collection
A collection of 21 glass plate negatives with stereo images of the First World War. The slides provide an interesting insight into the mobilisation of the French army in Nevers during the first weeks of the conflict. The collection is special for two reasons. First, the glass plate negatives are numbered and the numbers correspond… Continue reading The Nevers 1914 collection
The Ypres collection
Belgium was occupied by the German army during the First World War. Only a small part of southwest Flanders remained Belgian territory and was defended by the Allied armies. The city of Ypres was close to the frontline and was surrounded by German troops. The city remained in Allied hands during the war, but the… Continue reading The Ypres collection
Paul Piotin collection
This story starts at a flea market in Sancerre, France. Guy Laluque is a collector of stereoscopy antiques and has a collection of approximately 700 stereoviews from the First World War. He bought a collections of boxes with 45x107mm stereoviews at a flea market . He studied the images and found the death certificate of… Continue reading Paul Piotin collection
The SPCA in Audignicourt
This 6x13cm glass stereoview was published by La Stéréoscopie Universelle and has a caption “Audignicourt – Tank Renault – 9282”. It’s a rich image with good composition. Most interesting however is the person in the foreground. The soldier is photographing or filming. He photographs or films from a tripod, which indicates that he’s using heavy… Continue reading The SPCA in Audignicourt
Gott strafe England
This stereoview shows a group of German prisoners of war guarded by French soldiers on horses. They’re walking past a house with the text Gott strafe England! 1914/15. The photo was taken in the village of Bucy-le-Long in Northern France. Gott strafe England (“May God punish England”) was a slogan used by the German army during the… Continue reading Gott strafe England
Autochrome stereoviews of the Great War – part I
Less than one-thousandth of the images from the First World War were colour images[1]. Most were produced by the photography unit of the French army, la Section Photographique et Cinématographique de l’Armée (SPCA). Photographers like Paul Castelnau, Fernand Cuville and Albert Samama Chikli made images by using the autochrome colour process at various locations of… Continue reading Autochrome stereoviews of the Great War – part I