travel photography

Stereographs: site and sight of cultural privilege

keystone stereograph

Image credit: Underwood and Underwood 

Over past week, as I reworked a syllabus for a course on Photography and Literature, I spent some time skimming through the online finding aids and databases that catalog the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center.  The Stereograph collection at the HRC seems particularly fascinating—it contains over 4,000 images, most of which date to the period between 1870 and 1900.  Introducing students to stereographs can form a jumping off point for considering the intersections of vision, modernity, science and technology, early photography, and tourism.

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