The cards shown on this page were loaned to me by a fellow
member of the 1904 World's Fair Society, Yvonne
Suess. She has been collecting stereo view cards for a number of years now.
These cards are viewed through a stereoscope, this device tricks the eyes
into viewing the two pictures on the card as one 3-D image. This turn of
the century technology still facinates people today. There are tons of stereo
card sets "out there". "Supposedly, there were only nine
companies that paid $300 for the rights to shoot stereo pictures of the
fair" Suess said."I have views in my collection by at least 18
different publishers."
One perticular set of view cards was published by T.W. Ingersol. The ingersol
cards are "litho" prints. There are two sets numbering 100 cards
in each set. The difference is the color of the "mount", or border
of the card. The first set is numbered 100 to 199, and they have white mounts
with the number of the view and a brief description of the view in the lower
right corner. The secnd set is numbered 300 to 399, and they have a green
mount, with the number of the view and the same description of the view
in the lower right corner. However the main difference between the two sets
is that the green set has a detailed description of the view printed on
the back side of each card. These litho cards are color "litho"
views. Color photography was not around in 1904, so the color is not necessarily
very accurate, based on the fact that it was someone's interpretation of
how they "halftones" should be colored for four-color printing.
Yvonne prefers the cards that are "real photo views". "When
you view them through a viewer they are much sharper" Suess stated.
The above card is of Festival Hall and showes
the statue of Napoleon in the forground. According
to Yvonne you can "free view" stereoscoptic cards, just relaxe
your eyes and the image will merge to create a 3-D image, similar to the
magic eye process that is popular today.
Some of the most popular stereo view cards to collect are the night views
of the illumination, the Festival Hall and the
Observation Wheel. The above night view shows
the Festival Hall and the Palace
of Electricity.
If you would like to contact Yvonne Seuss you can contact her at ycsflash@swbell.net.
A special thanks to Yvonne for lending me some of her cards for this months
memorbilia section.
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If you have questions or comments regarding the 1904 World's Fair feel free
to contact me at
Terry's 1904 World's Fair Page.