Stereoscopomania

Stereoscopomania refers to the widespread popular enthusiasm for stereoscopy that emerged in the mid-19th century, particularly during the 1850s and 1860s. The term combines “stereoscope” with “mania” and denotes the rapid rise in production, consumption, and cultural impact of stereoscopes and stereoviews.

Improvements in photographic processes and the commercial production of stereoviews made stereoscopy affordable and widely accessible. As a result, stereoscopes became common domestic objects in Europe and the United States. The London Stereoscopic Company boosted the Stereoscopomania in the 1850s with their slogan No home without a stereoscope.

The peak of the stereoscopic craze occurred between approximately 1856 and 1862, after which the popularity of stereoscopy gradually declined. In England, stereoscopy would no longer play a major role, but in France and the United States a revival emerged in the 1890s.