A stereoscope is an antique optical instrument that allows viewers to see a pair of flat images in three dimensions. This type, with its wooden handle and metal viewing hood, is often referred to as a Holmes-style stereoscope, named after its inventor Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.  By using two prismatic lenses and a divider, the stereoscope presents a slightly different image to each eye, which the brain then fuses into a single, convincing 3D image. Stereoscopes were an incredibly popular form of home entertainment and education during the Victorian era, from the mid-1850s through the early 1900s, long before modern cinema or television. 

It has a turned wooden handle for handheld use and an adjustable wire holder on a wood frame for positioning the stereograph cards at the correct distance for viewing. The cards offer a variety of scenes including Niagara Falls, tall buildings and more.

Condition: very good

Measures:

Handle: 5" high

Wood frame: 10" long x 7" wide x 2" high

Metal viewing frame: 4.5" wide x 3 x 3"

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