PHSC - An Anaglyph 3D Show of Bicycle Photographic History - Lorne Shields

Toronto businessman Lorne Shields is a popular speaker. This is his third talk for the PHSC and fittingly, it is on 3D images. Lorne is an internationally known expert and collector of antique bicycles, bicycle images, and cycling related ephemera and memorabilia. He has loaned items from his collection to venues like the Smithsonian in Washington and the ROM in Toronto. A few years ago he donated the bulk of his bicycle collection to the Canada Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa.

Lorne began by thanking some PHSC members who helped him prepare for this and other recent talks. Ed Warner, Bob Wilson (programs to create anaglyphs), Bob Lansdale (photographing many old photographs), and Mark Singer (projecting these digital anaglyphs) were mentioned in particular.

For those interested in converting stereo cards to digital anaglyphs, Bob Wilson recommended the free Windows program “StereoPhoto Maker” along with a second free program called “Autopano”. [As an alternative, you can use Photoshop with the left and right views on a separate layer or by swapping channels in the image.] There are other ways to create digital stereo images as shown on the StereoPhoto Viewer page.

While we were getting ready for Lorne’s presentation and during his introductory remarks, he projected a short non-stereo slide show of striking bicycle views. At the start of the stereo views, he instructed the audience on the most effective way to experience the stereo effect: look at the furthest perceived depth in the slide for about 10 seconds, then focus on the forefront of the image for the same time. This, he explained, “conditions” the brain to “see” the dimensionality in the anaglyph. Once conditioned, the viewer can relax and focus on the principal object in the anaglyph. To allow this accommodation, the slides were shown at a leisurely pace.

He set the tone for the show by mentioning that 3D images give a truly 19th century experience. Stereoptic cards date back to the 1840s. They became practical in 1854 with the wet plate process and albumen prints, and affordable by the 1880s. Their popularity peaked in the late 1890s - early 1900s. The stereo cards were the TV of the Victorian era - a way to see the world beyond one’s town, social, and business experiences.

What one sees with the traditional hand held stereo viewer is completely separate from the technology and skill needed to make digital stereo images. The digital results are dependent on the condition of the original stereoptic card, the skill in converting the card to an anaglyph, and the projector’s colour balance and illumination.

Lorne chose stereoptics from the 1860s through to 1900 plus a few up to 1920. The cards had to be suitable for the conversion giving good contrast and separation. The choices included different stereo processes including the usual albumen prints, tissue paper, tintype, hand tinted, and autochrome (c1900 colour). While each stereo related to bicycles, the other content varied from scenery, to sequences that told a story, to staged accidents, to artificial scenes like diablery from France. There were stereoptic and regular photographs of the same event, high-wire artists, vintage bicycles, social outings, and bicycle races. Each slide was described in detail - approximate age, type of bicycle and its relevance in the history of bicycles, location, and the process & significance of the stereoptic.

A series of five cards told the story of a photographer who stopped a group of girls on bicycles and how they took their revenge. Other cards showed decorated bicycles in parades, groups of soldiers, and even cards of old Toronto.

After the show Lorne fielded a wide variety of questions on old bicycles, the stereo show, and scenes recorded by the stereoptics. Below are a few examples of Lorne’s slides in anaglyph stereo format (click on a thumbnail to see a larger view). Just round up a pair of anaglyph eyeglasses - the ones with a red filter for the left eye and a cyan one for the right eye. If you have any questions or wish to purchase rights to some of his rare images, contact Lorne by email at vintage-antique2@rogers.com.

Bridge with a view	Diablery scene	How to win a bet	child in the garden	New tricycle
Wheelwright shop	On high	Ready, set, GO!	Hard knocks	Girls gone wild
Early bike gang	That must have hurt	A famous pathway	Pole position	Stonehenge
Taking a break	The Benner Bros	Booting up	Bye-bye	Posing with a bicycle
Fixing a flat	Off road hazards	You were speeding	Keep working	Queen's Park Toronto

The images in the left sidebar are from the selection shown before the 3D show.
1. c1900 Bicycle Shop with bicycles built for two.
2. lever operated quadracycle
3. studio picture of a man on velocipede
4. studio picture of a woman on a velocipede
5. street scene with velocipede
6. store fronts showing a Bicycle School
7. man on a tricycle
8. workers and two velocipede riders in front of the workshop
9. the high-wheel riders (penny-farthing bicycles)