princess with an eating disorder?

[P3D Greg Dinkins <dinkins@xxxxxxxx>]

Today's New York Times (Thurs, Sept. 25, 1997, page F4) reports on the fall
antique show at the 7th Regiment Armory on Park Ave. One item mentioned and
illustrated is a framed group of images of a Bonaparte princess. "The pudgy
princess is captured in a variety of poses in a Paris photography studio of
the 1860's". 

The illustration shows 2 small pairs of pictures. I can't tell for sure in
the newspaper if they are identical or stereoscopic.  I remember reading in
"Photography and the American Scene" about multiple-lens cameras set up for
the purpose of getting more mileage from a single (long) exposure. The
pictures were cut apart to make cartes de visites, etc. 

I probably won't have a chance to see this, but I'm curious to know if they
are in fact stereoscopic images. I've often wondered if the images made with
those cameras could also be used to make commercial stereo pairs. I can
imagine that photographers commissioned to make cartes de visites for
nineteenth century celebrity-types  might also have wanted to sell stereo
card images from the same sitting. (Maybe she's pudgy in these days of the
waif look, but she could have been a voluptuous stunner to the Victorian dudes.)

If anyone goes to the antique show, it's in the booth of Hallam and Swope.
Thanks,
______________________________
Greg Dinkins
Micro Press, American Museum of Natural History
Central Park West at 79th Street
New York, New York 10024

http://nimidi.amnh.org/micro/micropress.html


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