Photograph thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level F , Case X, Shelf 546

Photograph

1899 (made)
Artist/Maker

Object Type
A stereograph is a pair of photographic images of the same subject taken from slightly different angles. This gives the illusion of a single three-dimensional image when viewed through a stereoscope designed to hold it.

Ownership & Use
Stereographs were mass-produced. Viewing them was a popular amusement carried out in the home from the 1850s until the early 20th century.

Subjects Depicted
A printed caption on the reverse of this stereograph reads:

'We notice in this view the present and the remote past, the baby and the giant of the desert. In the foreground, a little camel baby is getting her early breakfast. Camel milk is even used by the people of the desert. At certain seasons of the year, it is the only thing they drink. ... In the background stands the second pyramid of the Gizeh (Giza) field. This pyramid is easily distinguished from all the rest, because it still posses the top of its casing, while in the others the casing has entirely fallen away. Below it we see the Sphinx which for centuries has been the riddle of mankind... This view shows how the sand of the desert is drifting around the ancient ruins and tends to cover up these remnants of a past civilization.'


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Albumen print mounted on glass
Brief description
Stereoscopic Photograph of 'Pyramids'. 'A Baby of the Desert, Egypt'
Dimensions
  • Height: 8.3cm
  • Width: 17.3cm
Dimensions checked: Measured; 14/05/1999 by LH
Gallery label
British Galleries: STEREOSCOPE AND STEREOGRAPHS
Various dates, 1854-1901
This stereoscope is typical of those used in Victorian homes for education and amusement. Stereographs (paired photographs taken from slightly different angles) were placed in the holder and then adjusted until the viewer saw the scene in three dimensions.(27/03/2003)
Object history
Stereoscope made by Underwood & Underwood, New York, USA; stereographs by B.L. Lingley (American? 19th century); Publisher and manufacturer, Keystone View Company
Summary
Object Type
A stereograph is a pair of photographic images of the same subject taken from slightly different angles. This gives the illusion of a single three-dimensional image when viewed through a stereoscope designed to hold it.

Ownership & Use
Stereographs were mass-produced. Viewing them was a popular amusement carried out in the home from the 1850s until the early 20th century.

Subjects Depicted
A printed caption on the reverse of this stereograph reads:

'We notice in this view the present and the remote past, the baby and the giant of the desert. In the foreground, a little camel baby is getting her early breakfast. Camel milk is even used by the people of the desert. At certain seasons of the year, it is the only thing they drink. ... In the background stands the second pyramid of the Gizeh (Giza) field. This pyramid is easily distinguished from all the rest, because it still posses the top of its casing, while in the others the casing has entirely fallen away. Below it we see the Sphinx which for centuries has been the riddle of mankind... This view shows how the sand of the desert is drifting around the ancient ruins and tends to cover up these remnants of a past civilization.'
Collection
Accession number
E.1557-1992

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Record createdMarch 27, 2003
Record URL
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