Stereo photography is a process by which the illusion of depth or 3D can be achieved by superimposing two photographs taken at the same time from slightly different viewpoints.

Just as stereo music adds depth and realism to the sounds we are hearing, stereo photography adds depth and dimension to images we are viewing.

The process, which was very popular in the late 1800s and early 1900s used a camera with two lenses, side by side, like the one beside John Connon in the photograph to the right, to create two negatives depicting the same scene.

Click to see a larger image(125K)
Portrait of John R. Connon standing beside a
camera (detail), [between 1875 and 1890]
Thomas Connon
Glass plate negative
Connon family fonds
Reference Code: C 286-1-0-11-9
Archives of Ontario, I0011625

The two images were printed side-by-side on a single sheet of paper as on the left below. Known as stereographs or stereo cards, these were then viewed in a device called a stereoscope.

Cameras with multiple lenses and faster exposures increased the popularity of stereography and in the period that ranged from 1860 to about 1920, many homes had viewers of all different shapes and descriptions.

It became a very fashionable way to see images of the world and popular images were reproduced over and over. Many stereo images were made into postcards and sent through the mail.

The Archives has approximately 1500 stereographs in its holdings. Of the 236 photographs in the Connon collection 25 are stereographs and they were all taken by Thomas. A selection has been included below.

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Stereograph of Elora Gorge, viewed from Grand River, [between 1860 and 1899]
Thomas Connon
Stereograph
Connon family fonds
Reference Code: C 286-2-0-5
Archives of Ontario, I0011439

Click to see a larger image (225K)
Stereograph of Elora Gorge, viewed from Grand River, [between 1860 and 1899]
Thomas Connon
Stereograph
Connon family fonds
Reference Code: C 286-2-0-5
Archives of Ontario, I0011441

Click to see a larger image (137K)
Photography equipment, [between 1860 and 1900]
Thomas Connon
Stereograph
Connon family fonds
Reference Code: C 286-2-0-7
Archives of Ontario, I0011459

Click to see a larger image (277K)
Elora Gorge, hole through rock, [between 1860 and 1900]
Thomas Connon
Stereograph
Connon family fonds
Reference Code: C 286-2-0-5
Archives of Ontario, I0011442

Click to see a larger image (182K)
Stereograph of Old Indian Bridge over river banked by rocks
and trees, [between 1860 and 1899]
Thomas Connon
Stereograph
Connon family fonds
Reference Code: C 286-2-0-1
Archives of Ontario, I0011503

Click to see a larger image (201K)
Stereograph of railroad bridge at Elora Gorge, [between 1860 and 1899]
Thomas Connon
Stereograph
Connon family fonds
Reference Code: C 286-2-0-2
Archives of Ontario, I0011504

To see more stereographs visit the Archives of Ontario Visual Data Base, click on "Advanced Search" and then enter "stereo*" (with the asterisk but without the quotation marks) in the Title field and click "Search."

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