The Hemdé Serie I is a table-top stereoscope for viewing 45x107mm glass stereoviews. The device has a mahogany finish and consists of two parts: a viewer and a cabinet for storing slide trays with stereoviews. There is room for 12 slide trays to store a total of 300 stereoviews.
The front shows the Hemdé logo and a patent plate with Stéréo Hemdé Breveté S.G.D.G. The stereoscope is manufactured between 1907 and 1910.
The two eyepieces can be focused with two knobs on both sides. The distance between the two eyepieces can be adjusted. Eyepiece blinders can be adjusted to block incident light.
The mechanism is simple and the device is very easy to use. A slide tray with 25 stereoviews is placed in the device. Turning the crank brings a new stereoview into position. The slide is lifted and placed in front of the eyepieces and can be viewed. At the rear, an opaque glass window illuminates the slides and on the right side of the device the number of the stereoview in the tray is displayed.
Table-top stereoscopes are readily available but finding a Hemdé is rare. To quote Paul Wing: “It is a nice collectable if it can be found”[1].
References
- Wing, Paul. Stereoscopes: the first one hundred years, 1996