3D is All the Rage Again
Grand Canyon. Exciting!
Sir Charles Wheatstone patented the first stereoscope in 1838. But a later version, made by Oliver Wendell Holmes (yes, that Oliver, lawyer, author, etc.) was more popular. It remained so, until the end of the century, when pictures that actually moved shocked the world. The Holmes Stereo Viewer was to become a prototype for the familiar View-master that’s still sold today.
In 1897, Claude Grivolas used a specially constructed camera and projector that would show prints simultaneously on the same screen by two interlinked projectors. One lens had a red filter and the other a blue one. As before, the audience would wear special glasses, only now there would be a three dimensional moving picture.
However, no matter how excited audiences seemed over the effect, it was only used for short marketing films and “attention-getters”, at
