There are stereoviews and then there are stereoviews--this is one of two early albumen photo stereoviews I'm listing this week of the gorgeous and special variety; a different species entirely from the later stereocards with images printed on the card. And this is a curious one, too. The image is very similar to an engraving ("Ideal Scene of the Lias Period with Ichthyosaurus and Plesiosaurus") in French scientist Louis Figuier's 'The World Before the Deluge,' published in 1862 and with a revised printing in 1872--but that does not seem to be the precise source; I've included an image in photo documentation for comparison. I'm really not certain, but perhaps the photo here was taken of an original watercolor upon which the engraving was based? Whatever the case, what a fantastic image of these wonderful long lost sea creatures with bones spread across the rocks in the foreground, made all the moodier and more magical feeling captured as 19th century photographs, and with the right image printed more darkly than the left, adding to the dynamism of the doubling as well as the singularity of the card. I could look at this one all day long.
6 7/6 x 3 7/16 and in good condition, with a little toning/staining along the edges and visible on the back of the card.
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