Stereoscopy: The Dawn of 3-D (OWL viewer included)

Product Description
This book tells the astonishing and sometimes controversial story of the birth of stereoscopy, the phenomenon we now call 3-D, which entranced Victorian society and is the great-grandparent of today's virtual reality. Peering into a small, dark, magical box (a stereoscope!) an eager new audience in the 1850s was transported into another dimension. The immersive realism of 3-D beckoned to them to experience the far-flung wonders of the world without ever leaving their fireside. It was as if they were actually there amongst the Great Pyramids of Giza, or looking up at the Matterhorn, or standing in the rice fields of China. The realistic stereoscopic portraiture made them feel close to heroes they could never otherwise meet. They could enjoy current events at close quarters, and watch the construction of Brunel's Great Eastern ship on the banks of the Thames. And they could share sentimental scenes and a vast array of creative art in solid realism. Millions of images were printed, published and voraciously consumed by the public in just a few glorious years.
In these pages you will find for the first time the full account of the first 30 years of this extraordinary scientific, artistic and social revolution. You will also experience the pictures it created in full 3-D, just as they were originally intended to be viewed. Brian May's high-quality London Stereoscopic Company OWL viewer, included free in this deluxe package, is all you need to embark upon this visual journey of discovery. It all began in the mind of the Victorian genius Charles Wheatstone, several years before photography was even invented ...\nReview
“This is exactly the sort of deeply researched history I’ve wanted to see for many years.” --John Dennis, Stereo World
About the Author
Denis Pellerin, dedicated photo historian, was a teacher for over 30 years and has been interested in photography since the age of ten. He was bitten by the stereo bug in the 1980s, has been fascinated by the Diableries for over 25 years, and has written several books and articles on 19th-century stereo photography for various magazines, institutions and museums. He graduated with an MA in Art History at the Sorbonne in 1999 and has since been specializing in French and British Victorian genre stereo views. Brian May CBE, PhD, ARCS, FRA is a founding member of the rock group Queen, a world-renowned guitarist, songwriter, producer and performer, authority on 3-D stereoscopic photography, a passionate campaigner for animal rights and welfare, and an advocate for political and social change. His PhD thesis A Survey of Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud was published in 2007, and he is the co-author of eight books on astronomy, space, and historical stereo photography, and the solo author and photographer of the bestselling book on the history of his own band: Queen in 3-D, published in 2017. Brian was Chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University 2008–13, has received three Honorary Doctorates and holds the post of visiting researcher at Imperial College. Asteroid 52665 Brianmay was named in his honor, and in 2015 he was appointed Science Team Collaborator for NASA New Horizons mission, assembling the first ever stereo images of Pluto. Brian is currently engaged in many other collaborations with NASA, ESA and JAXA, producing stereo images of solar system objects.