Stereo viewing began with drawingsSourced
Wheatstone’s device preceded practical photography
Wheatstone presented his stereoscope in 1838, before the first practical photographic processes became available. It initially used drawings, sending different views to each eye to create a sense of a solid three-dimensional object.
The viewing principle arrived before the familiar photographic content.
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Stereoscope · Wikimedia contributors
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Reviewed: 2026-10-05