Stereoviews were first commonly made using the daguerreotype process in the early 1850’s but these are quite rare now. Initially they were taken using a single lens camera where 2 exposures were made in succession and the camera was moved horizontally between exposures. These two images are mounted side-by-side and viewed in a special viewer, giving a three dimensional effect. With the advent of relatively inexpensive albumen paper prints stereoviews became very popular in the 1860’s and 1870’s with nearly every town in the US having at least one photographer that took them. Interest waned in the 1880’s but there was a rebirth in the 1890’s with the mass produced curved mount views made by Kilburn, then Underwood & Underwood, followed by Keystone. They were widely produced through the teens and twentys, decreasing to a few scarce views made during the 1950’s.

Virtually every important human event that occurred from 1850 until 1950 will be found on these stereoviews.