Our latest History Mystery - a folding wooden device containing a large lens - received a lot of responses, from a boot remover to a land surveyor’s tool.
Many of you zeroed in on the lens. Some guessed it was for projecting images onto a wall, or viewing negatives or microfilm. Others said it looked like a familiar toy from the middle decades of the 1900s, the Viewmaster:
“The mystery object is a photo viewer similar to a Viewfinder kids used in the 1950s.” - Alana T.
“A view master, for looking at cards with scenes.” - Gloria M.
“The machine is the earliest version of what became Viewmaster — it's a stereoscopic viewer. Really cool” - Lisa M.
“It is a Victorian Stereoscope. Looks like it's made out of rosewood!” - Sandi B.
In fact, some versions of History Mystery #10 did incorporate a separate stereoscopic viewer, such as the auction example shown below … but what was the purpose of the large single lens, which would not be capable of presenting stereoscopic imagery?
The large, single lens was used for viewing photos up close. In effect, it was a mounted magnifying glass. Reader Mike H. sent the most detailed explanation:
“In the old-fashioned vernacular, it’s an early graphoscope or stereoscope! (Rowsell patent) Some had the single lens as your pic shows, but others also had the two-lens ocular arrangement. Most were cleverly arranged/folded both lens sets into or onto the box container.”
The design of the single-lens graphoscope echoed the zograscope, an older optical device that predated the invention of photography in the 1840s.
However, instead of photos, the zograscope used a mounted convex lens and angled mirror to look at hand-drawn prints drawn with perspective. This created an illusion of depth when viewed through the lens. Here's a sample example, a French illustration showing Covent Garden:
This zograscope from the Mt. Holyoke College gallery was designed to look like a book that could be tucked into a bookshelf, then brought out to show images to visiting friends and family:
Years before the invention of moving pictures and television, these simple devices brought a sense of joy and wonder to countless households.
