Antique Stereoscope on a Felt Table

The American doctor and writer Oliver Wendell Holmes designed this kind of hand stereoscope in 1861. He chose not to patent it so anyone could make one cheaply. Viewers like it soon turned up in parlors everywhere. Each card carries two nearly identical pictures taken a few inches apart. Through the lenses the brain merges them into one scene with real depth. An old wooden one lies on a dark felt table, a sepia view of a river town clipped into its holder. The worn grip and hood make a handsome stereoscope jigsaw puzzle.