History in 3-D
Did you know that most photographs from the Civil War era were taken in what was then called "stereoview"? What your 19th century ancestors called stereoview, we call 3-D .
Photos like the one of the USS Monitor (to the right) look like they are duplicates of each other. They're not.
What you are actually looking at is a stereoview exposure made during the Civil War. Many late 1800's photographs were created by making a chemical exposure of light onto a glass plate. The stereoscope machine actually made 2 exposures of the image being captured, each one from a slightly different angle. When view through a stereoviewer the glass plates would be placed back-to-back, created a stereo or 3-D image. over 70% of Civil War photographs were made this way. |
Assignment Instructions
You have been given two primary source analysis sheets. One is for 2-D images, one is for 3-D. These analysis sheets will help you observe and interpret each of the images below. Be as detailed and descriptive as you can in your answers. You will need to use a little bit of inductive reasoning to draw some conclusions about what you are viewing.
Social Studies Standard:
History Skills and Methods: 2. The use of primary and secondary sources of information includes an examination of the credibility of each source.
2-D Images
3-D Images
Homework Assignment Instructions
Use the appropriate analysis sheet to describe and interpret each of the following photos.
More Primary Source Images
Use the links below to find more primary resource photos as well as some 3-D or potential 3-D photos.
Civil War Trust 3-D Photography
http://www.civilwar.org/photos/3d-photography-special/
Center for Civil War Photography
http://www.civilwarphotography.org/
Library of Congress Online Catalog
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/
Library of Congress Digital Archive
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/cwphtml/cwphome.html
Library of Congress Wayback Machine
http://web.archive.org/web/20130921073735/http://www.loc.gov/index.html
Civil War Stereoviews
http://www.stereoviews.com/civilwar.html
How to Make Your Own 3-D Photo
http://www.civilwar.org/education/teachers/lesson-plans/how-to-make-a-3-d-photograph/how-to-make-a-3-d-photo.html
Civil War Trust 3-D Photography
http://www.civilwar.org/photos/3d-photography-special/
Center for Civil War Photography
http://www.civilwarphotography.org/
Library of Congress Online Catalog
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/
Library of Congress Digital Archive
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/cwphtml/cwphome.html
Library of Congress Wayback Machine
http://web.archive.org/web/20130921073735/http://www.loc.gov/index.html
Civil War Stereoviews
http://www.stereoviews.com/civilwar.html
How to Make Your Own 3-D Photo
http://www.civilwar.org/education/teachers/lesson-plans/how-to-make-a-3-d-photograph/how-to-make-a-3-d-photo.html