The Stereograph Archive


[Latest update: October 4, 2020]

Welcome to our growing collection of antique stereographs, where we endeavor to make available a wide and as unique catalog as possible of free, public domain stereographs. If you find this valuable, interesting, or useful in some way, please share this page with your friends.

Instructions for how to view a stereogram on this website or others without using an original stereoscope viewer.


Mt Washington Railroad Trains. 1868 to 1880.

 Kilburn Brothers, Littleton New Hampshire.


Research Notes: These train lines appear to still be in existence, called the Mount Washington Cog Railway. Some of the trains from the approximate time era of this stereogram are, according to their website, either still in operation or on display. The Wikipedia page has a good overview of the history.



Multnomah Falls, 700 feet, Cascades, Oregon. New York Public Library. 1890 to 1899




First Street from the Occidental Hotel, Portland Oregon. New York Public Library. 1890 to 1899




Dorthy's Pets. B. L. Langley, 1890–1900 (estimate)





Sky Railroading, White Mountains New Hampshire. B.W.Kilburn, 1891



White Coral. B. L. Langley, 1897



This beautiful specimen of the coral is found in what is known as the Coral Sea or tropics of the Pacific Ocean. It is a calcareous deposit of many kinds of Zoophytes and assumçs various forms, according to the different laws which govern the gemmation of the polyps of the different species of which it is formed. Its formation is rapid, having its foundation on rocks that do not reach the surface of the ocean, and develops at the rate of from two to three feet during the period of one month.
This beautiful specimen of the coral is found in what is known as the Coral Sea or tropics of the Pacific Ocean. It is a calcareous deposit of many kinds of Zoophytes and assumes various forms, according to the different laws which govern the gemmation of the polyps of the different species of which it is formed. Its formation is rapid, having its foundation on rocks that do not reach the surface of the ocean, and develops at the rate of from two to three feet during the period of one month.



Oregon Exhibit, Horticultural Hall, Columbian Exposition. New York Public Library. 1898




Give you a penny for a kiss. M. H. Zhaner, 1898




She gets the kiss. M. H. Zhaner, 1898




Santa Claus Caught In The Act. Geo. W. Griffith. 1901




London Bridge Is Falling Down. Geo. W. Griffith. 1901





Inauguration of President  William McKinley, Washington D.C. Griffith & Griffith, 1901





Removing the casket to the capitol, funeral of President McKinley, Washington D.C., 1901





Great Union Stock Yards and Packing Houses, Chicago, Ill. George W. Griffith, 1902







Looking north in Culebra Cut, Panama. Continental Art Co., 1906




Glaciers of Mt Hood Oregon. New York Public Library. 1908





Alongside of United States Cruiser "Brooklyn." 1900 to 1910


Rear: Since the United States, in 1898, suddenly rose into the front rank of sea powers, it became necessary to acquire naval stations in the different parts of the world, and it must be admitted that we have been eminently successful. The Republic of Cuba ceded two ports, one at each end of the island, we have San Juan in Porto Rico in the West Indies, enough for supremacy in the sea south of us; in the Pacific we have Honolulu, Guam, Tago Tago and Manila, all of them connected with San Francisco by cable, At all these ports ample stores of coal and other naval requisites are kept, so as to insure to our navy the greatest possible facilities for replenishing their stores of provisions or ammunition or coal. and docks are being built everywhere for repairs. A large dry dock was towed from the United States around Africa and through the Indian Ocean to Manila, a feat never attempted before and considered impossible by many seamen until it was accomplished. Our navy is small as compared with that of England, but our men-of-war are new, modern and efficient and, best of all, we have reason to believe that our naval officers and our men behind the guns will give a good account of themselves at any future opportunity.





Artists Decorating Porcelain Ware, Trenton New Jersey. Keystone View Company, 1915 to 1920

Lat. 40° N.; Long. 75° W.

Rear: There is nothing more beautiful than an artist tic piece of pottery. It may be beautiful because of its design, or its color, or its decoration, or all three combined. In a way these are separate departments of art. But the coloring and the decoration must fit the design. You have seen beautiful vases with no decorations painted on them. Their beauty was in their shape and in their colors due to the combining of clays. On the other hand, many of our pieces of pottery are valuable chiefly because of their decorations.


Emperors of Rome had their deeds recorded on bowls and vases by means of pictures. So also with the Egyptians. These pieces were usu ally painted in a series of circles, each circle showing a number of scenes. In this way host ory has been handed down to us. Perhaps you have seen a piece of old blue china with a picture on it to show some city or some event.


The art of decorating pottery is old, but some improvements have been made. Formerly the painting was done on the war before it was glazed. The roughness of the clay made fine lines impossible. Now we fire a glaze on the fashioned clay. This glaze may be of lead-oxide, alkalines, feldspar, or salt. After the glaze is on, the ware is decorated and then re-fired.

In the Trenton factory here pictured is a group of artists decorating the glazed ware. Here are painted on our porcelain ware many designs that make our dishes pretty. Trenton has one estab lishment that does nothing but decorate pottery. In the first half of the 19th century machine made pottery took the place of hand-made The decorations were also machine made. In the last 60 years we have had better taste. Now we value the hand-painted china far above the other.


 Copyright by The Keystone View Company.





In the surf, Atlantic City, New Jersey. Keystone View Company, 1915 to 1920

Lat. 39° N.; Long. 74° W.


Rear: Here you have a view of the greatest playground in the United States. This is Atlantic City, on the southeastern shores of New Jersey. It is both a summer and a winter resort. But most people know it for its famous beach, its bathing, and its Board Walk.


The scene here shows a great crowd of bathers playing in the sand and in the surf. In the summer the heat in large cities is intense. People rush to the beaches, where these are within reach, to play in the water and to enjoy the sea breezes.  You will observe the children digging in the sand, and the general happiness on the faces of everybody. The balconies are full of people watching the sport.


Just to the left of the view and extending for a distance along the beach, is the famous Board Walk. This is the parade ground for the the thousands of visitors. Wheel-chairs, pushed by attendants, move slowly back and forth. On every side are shops, amusement places-everything, in fact, to be found in a summer resort.


Beyond the Board Walk lies the city proper. Its business depends largely on entertaining its visitors. It has more than 1000 hotels, besides a countless number of boarding houses. Every summer the total population of the city is about 300,000. This is six times the number of its regular inhabitants. In a single year, over 1000000 visitors come to Atlantic City. This makes it easily our largest seaside resort. 


Atlantic City has become famous partly because of the excellence of its beach, and partly because of its location. It is only 60 miles south east of Philadelphia, and less than 100 miles south of New York. Both these cities are connected with it by excellent railways, and by steamship lines. This means that one-tenth of the population of the United States is within a few hours' ride of the city.





Confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. Keystone View Company, 1915 to 1920

Lat. 40° N.; Long. 80° W.


Rear: The Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers unite to form the Ohio River where Pittsburgh is now located. This site has an interesting history. It was looked upon by the French and the Eng lish as an ideal place for a fort. In 1754 Gov ernor Dinwiddie, of Virginia, built a fort here. The French and Indians drove the English out. In turn, General Braddock tried to drive out the French. You recall that he failed, and lost his life in the attempt. In the hands of the French the fort was called Duquesne (dü' kān'). The French finally destroyed their fort and a new fort was built by the English. This one, at Washington's suggestion, was called Fort Pitt in honor of the Prime Minister of England.


Pittsburgh today is the 8th city in size in the United States. The 1910 census gives it a population of over a half million. It is now the greatest city in the world in the iron and steel industry. This is largely due to its location. The 19 Monongahela River taps the coal fields of West Virginia 100 miles south. The Allegheny River taps the coal and oil fields 100 miles north. The Ohio River, leading into the Mississippi, gives a great shipping outlet to points in these valleys and seaward through the Gulf of Mexico. The city has fine railroad connections in all directions. You will notice on your maps its location with respect to Philadelphia, New York, Buffalo, Erie. Cleveland, Cincinnati, and other large cities. It is the center of a spider web of railways and rivers. Hence the great industrie that have sprung up here. As you see in the view, the city is on rough ground. It has more bridges than any other city in the United States.




Some of the Great Warships in Hampton Roads for the Jamestown Exposition–Opening Day, April 26, 1907. Keystone View Company, 1915 to 1920



This scene was taken on the opening day of the Jamestown Exposition, April 26, 1907. This was 300 years after the founding of the first English settlement in America. The chief point of interest is the great battleships lying in the roads.

The little band of settlers at Jamestown 300 years ago little dreamed that they were founding a nation whose power is so splendidly suggested in these mighty warships. In fact it was not until 1775 that our navy had its beginning. On October 13 in that year, Congress voted to equip two small, one with 10, the other with 14 guns. During the Revolutionary War that followed, the few vessels we had made a place for themselves in naval history.

In the war of 1812, the British were victorious for the most part, in the land battles. But our navy gave the war fleet of Great Britain a hard struggle. In fact the war of 1812 was finally closed because of the appeal of the British merchants to their government. British shipping suffered so much from the raids of our war-vessels that England was very glad to make peace.

In the Spanish-American War the fleets of Spain were sent to the bottom of the ocean in two memorable battles;–one at Manila Bay, and the other at Santiago. 
The great battleships that we now have, or have in the making, will make our navy second only to that of Great Britain. Some of these are the greatest fighting craft afloat. In the first class rank such vessels as the Arizona, the Idaho, the Mississippi, the New Mexico, the Pennsylvania, and the Tennessee, each 600 feet long. These new vessels carry the most powerful fighting equipment of any navy in the world. 

Copyright by The Keystone View Company.



Confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers, Harper's Ferry, W. Va., from "Heights of Maryland. Keystone View Company, 1915 to 1920





Overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains from Mt. Toxaway, N.C. Keystone View Company, 1915 to 1920






Flooding the Rice Fields, South Carolina. Keystone View Company, 1915 to 1920






Hoeing Rice, South Carolina. Keystone View Company, 1915 to 1920





Rosin on the Docks, Savannah, Ga. Keystone View Company, 1915 to 1920





A Turpentine Farm–Dippers and Chippers at Work, Savannah, Ga. Keystone View Company, 1915 to 1920






Harvesting Indian River Pineapples in Florida. Keystone View Company, 1915 to 1920






Alligator Joe's Battle with a Wounded 'Gater, Palm Beach, Florida. Keystone View Company, 1915 to 1920






Sponge Market, Key West Harbor, Fla. Keystone View Company, 1915 to 1920






Tobacco Field in Kentucky. Keystone View Company, 1915 to 1920





Steel Furnace in Alabama's Great Iron Center, Birmingham, Ala. Keystone View Company, 1915 to 1920






Mining Phosphate and Loading Cars Near Columbia, Tenn. Keystone View Company, 1915 to 1920









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