The Library History Buff

Promoting the appreciation, enjoyment, and preservation of library history

Library Stereoviews

Several decades before photographs of libraries appeared on picture postcards they could be viewed on stereoviews. Stereoviews are double images of a scene on a card that when viewed with a stereoscope appear to be three dimensional or in 3D.  William Jaeger has a nice introduction to stereoviews especially the Golden Age of Stereoviews (the 1860s and 70s). Del Phillips has some good information on stereoscopes, the devices used to view stereoviews. Stereoviews depicting libraries are far fewer that postcards showing libraries. I've collected only  few library stereoviews. Some of them are shown below. 

Chicago Public Library bookmobile.

Library of Congress located in Capitol circa 1866.

Boston Public Library.

Carnegie Free Library of Allegeheny.