P3D Re: stereo cards

[Mark Josephson <icebox@xxxxxxx>]

On Wed, 29 Apr 1998, John Slivon wrote:

> William Carter replies:
> 
> >Not being a collector I have to ask; are the oldest cards easier on >your
> >eyes, easier to view for a sustained peroid of time, more "enjoyable" >to
> >look at, than those produced closer to the end of their popularity?
> 
> My experience indicates that toward the end of the card era there were a lot
> of really trashy views out there, mostly half-tones. The early images that

True, low quality lithos certainly couldn't have helped the popularity of
stereo, but the very end of the card era was owned by Keystone, and they
didn't do much in the way of lithos.  As far as the quality of later
photo views versus earlier, the later views are often far better to
look at than earlier views (for obvious reasons...lenses and film came a
long way between 1850 and 1930). 

You can often do direct comparisons between views produced between
1890s-1910 and views produced in the 1930s.  Keystone bought Underwood's
library in the late teens, and then they started publishing older
Underwood views under their own label.  I have a few photos in both turn
of the century Underwood views and 1930s mounted Keystones, and the later
Keystones are always sharper and less grainy.

In general, earlier views are not necessarily difficult to look at, but
they often (though not always) leave something to be desired in sharpness
and grain (and exposure speed) compared to later views.  That said,
1860s-1870s views usually make up for that in their often more interesting
subject matter. I'd rather have a less sharp 1850s crystal palace view or
pre-fire Chicago view than 30 perfectly sharp keystones of american cities
in the 1930s. 

 --
Mark Josephson  | "[US Atty] Jim Burns is putting aldermen in jail so fast, 
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@               |   --Chicago Alderman Ed Smith (28th), 7/30/97
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----------Icebox in effect on WHPK 88.5 FM Chicago, Wednesdays 9PM-Midnite 



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