Stereo Kromskop viewer
Category
Photographic technology
Date
1895 - 1899
Materials
Wood, Glass, Metal, Plastic
Measurements
185 x 164 x 232 mm
Order this imageCollection
Fox Talbot Museum, Wiltshire
NT 1524986.1
Summary
Stereoscopic Kromskop viewer and three part slide Stereo Kromskop or Kromskope viewer invented by Frederick Eugene Ives.It enabled viewing of colour separation stereoscopic transparencies. The separations are laid on the stepped part of the viewer over hinged filters coloured red , blue and green. The viewer is then strongly lit from above and by the hinged reflector at the rear, the three images are superimposed and redirected to the viewing lens by internal reflectors, after manual adjustment to achieve correct register the photograph can be viewed in true colour and in three dimensions. The viewer is a wooden box with a moulded base and three steps. The front has a hinged drop down plate which is the mount for the two magnifying viewing lenses. There are also brass mounts for the viewing hood There is a plastic label on the inside of the plate, embossed The "KROMSKOP" IVES PATENT The Photochromoscope Syndicate L'd Holbein House, 121 Shaftesbury Ave LONDON W.C. The sides are mirror images of each other and comprise three steps down to the back with brass mounts holding the filters horizontally and providing for mounting the slides in a vertical plane. The rear hinge plate has a mirror reflecting surface which is used to register the three images and a retaining slides on one side. At the extreme back of the box structure is a large hinge which allows the entire viewer to be raised from the baseboard and there is a gallery and screw structure beneath to hold the viewer at an angle.
Provenance
Part of the Fenton Collection. A gift from British Film Institute in 2017. From 1986-1999, part of BFI collection for the Museum of the Moving Image. BFI purchased collection in 1986 from James Fenton's Museum of Photography, Port Erin, Isle of Man 1976-1986