P3D Re: stereopticon or stereoscope?

[Richard Wood <akrare@xxxxxxxxxx>]

As a collector very much into both stereoviews and magic lantern 
(stereopticon), I have often wondered about when this confusion 
started.

I believe that all people in the 1880's and 1890's knew that 
"stereopticon" meant an "illustrated lecture" (aka "magic lantern 
show").  Only a few decades later nearly everyone was calling the 
stereoscope a stereopticon.  I, therefore, assume that some mass 
market medium, like a Sears & Roebuck catalog, must have introduced 
this confusion.  I think that if someone was to research this 
question using mass market catalogs of the period, and look at old 
magazine and newspaper ads, they would find the answer.

Dick Wood