Brewster-type stereoscope

A Brewster-type stereoscope is a refracting hand-held stereoscope introduced by David Brewster in 1849. The device evolved into a viewer with an enclosed housing. This modification occurred largely in response to the use of daguerreotype stereoviews, which exhibited high surface reflectivity and therefore required shielding from ambient light. A hinged lid was added to the top of the viewer in order to direct incident light onto the daguerreotype and, subsequently, onto paper stereoviews. Jules Duboscq later incorporated a ground glass element to enable illumination of glass stereoviews by transmitted light.

There is no universally accepted definition specifying which stereoscopes sharing comparable characteristics are to be classified as Brewster-type. Some sources restrict the designation to designs with small lenses produced approximately between 1850 and 1870. Other sources extend the term to include compact box-type stereoscopes manufactured in the early 20th century.

This compendium considers the Brewster-type stereoscope as a specialisation of the box-type and includes early box-type stereoscopes that were manufactured until c. 1870.

Stereoscope classification

See also: introduction to stereoscope classification