P3D Stereo Cards to Japan

[bill3dbw3d@xxxxxxxx (Bill C Walton)]

This month is the 20th anniversary of the sister-city relationship
between Columbus, Ga (where I live) and Kiryu Japan.  21 Japanese
Exchange students arrived on 19 July and will be here three weeks.  The
Mayor of Kiryu and his party arrived on 25 July and will be here a week. 
When I learned of his visit I thought it would be a nice gesture to give
the City of Kiryu some antique stereo cards.  Kiryu is a "textile city"
much like Columbus. The Silk/silk worm industry was very big in Kiryu for
many,many years.  I had a few Silk Industry antique stereo cards,
including one labeled as being made in Kiryu.  But I didn't have enough
to make a nice gift.  So I contacted SSA General Secretary N. Bill
Patterson and told him what I had in mind.   He went thru his antique
collection and found several more Silk Industry cards, including another
one with Kiryu on the label.  He sent me his cards and I went thru my
small collection one more time and found several antique Japan scenics,
that I thought would work for this project.

I went to the Government Center and contacted our Mayor's admin
assistance and told him what I had in mind.  He became very enthused
about the idea of giving the Kiryu Mayor some 70 year old stereo cards
with Japanese subjects on them.  He asked about a viewing device and I
told him I had planned to give a lorgnette viewer, but a stereoscope
would be better.  He agreed and we sat down at his computer and ordered a
Biopter Stereoscope from Reel 3-D (I realize that it does not have
achromat lenses, but it is a serviceable scope)  We started to sweat out
the scope arriving on time, but it got to Columbus on 23 July.  We
assembled it and I put one of my Columbus Personalities and Places stereo
cards in the scope and two more in the package.   This package was give
to the Kiryu Mayor by the Columbus Mayor during a Sunday ceremony..  Then
I was called forward and told him about the 15 antique cards in the
package that I then gave him.   He was like a "kid with a new toy"  and
seemed to like the scope and cards very much.  He has a American woman
who acts as his interpreter and I had to explain to her how these stereo
cards that were made in Japan made their way to the US.   (Keystone, U&U,
travel sets, educational sets  etc)

I saw him again this morning at a "Musicale" in the Kiryu Garden and he
told me how much he appreciates the scope and the cards and he will make
arrangements to have them displayed in the Kiryu Textile Museum.  He also
said that he would be able to better enjoy the 12  Columbus Stereo Cards
that I gave him last year when I visited Kiryu for two weeks.  I gave him
a lorgnette viewer with the 12 cards and some folks do have a little
problem with the basic lorgnette viewer

Who knows, maybe a latent stereographer in Kiryu will be inspired to try
some stereo cards, once he sees the  historical cards.

At the very least I consider this a successful stereo card project..

Bill C Walton, ISC
(Who is Bill?
bill3dbw3d@xxxxxxxx

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