Back in the days when Coquitlam's Mackin House was a family home, the only visual images available were in books or in artworks, both of which provided a flat image.
This changed with the invention of the stereoscope, which provided three-dimensional images, an exciting new form of entertainment and optical wonder. And they were eventually in colour!
The process was invented by Sir Charles Wheatstone in 1838. He originally used his bulky stereoscope with drawings because photography was not yet available.
The pictures were called stereograms and represented a 3D illusion that comes from a two-dimensional image. The depth perception arose from two perspectives on the same object or scene, to be viewed separately by the left and right eye of the viewer.
It was a new technology that led to full page advertisements in the 1908 Sears, Roebuck & Co. catalog out of Chicago.
One of the first advertisements promised that "through the use of our Holy Land set of colored stereoscopic views," a church could double its attendance. Featured were views of Nazareth, Gethsemane and the tomb of The Virgin at a price "which places it within the realm of every man, woman and child who is interested in the study of the Bible."
The Holy Land views, with a full description of each view, in a "fine, hinged leather box" and the stereoscope itself cost $1. The catalog also advertised a standard stereoscope "guaranteed to give perfect satisfaction" for 28 cents or $3.25 for a dozen. The deluxe model walnut stereoscope sold for 60 cents.
Also available "for an evening at home with the Little Ones" were children's stories that promised "lots of jolly fun." Children "will never tire of looking at the beautiful snow pictures, with the children engaged in their winter sports and pastimes."
Parents are told "these pictures are not taken in some unheard of and far away land, but represent the real children in this great wonderland of our own country." (The U.S., not Canada.)
Available for 85 cents were colour views of the St. Louis World's Fair and Exhibition or a series of photos of hunting and fishing. The story of the April 18, 1906 San Francisco earthquake also made it into 60 stereoscopic views for 75 cents or 90 cents with the stereoscope itself.
"These views are the most interesting collection that has ever been offered to the public," said the catalogue ad promising to show the "Havoc of Death," fleeing refugees and "The Ruins of a Great City."
While few people remember the stereoscope, many Tri-City residents will remember what came after it - the View-Master - which became popular in the 1940s and 1950s. It also provided three-dimensional images and with the purchase of a special camera, parents could have pictures of their own children and travels.
Mackin House has a stereoscope with two slides - the whirlpool rapids at Niagara Falls and British Columbia's Mt. Sir Donald, "the Matterhorn of the North American Alps."
To use the stereoscope, slide a scenery card in the picture holding device. Then look through the double lens and slowly move the slide towards you or slide it away until both of the frames merge into one and the 3D effect forms.
Drop by the Mackin House Museum at 1116 Brunette Avenue and see for yourself.
