Stereoviews of Microscopical Objects

by Brian Stevenson
last updated January, 2020

A number of professional and amateur microscopists and photographers produced photograph cards that gave three-dimensional images when viewed through a stereoscope. Here we show several examples, presented at reasonably high resolution so that you can print and examine them yourself.

"Fairy Slippers" - ossicles from the mouth of a starfish / sea star. This was a popular mount in the Victorian age, being a combination of biological significance and whimsey. To the right is a ca. 1880 microscope slide of this subject, produced by professional slidemaker Amos Topping (1831-1900).

Detail of a Navicula lyra diatom, 1500x. Produced by Arthur E. Smith, London.

Detail of a polycystina shell, 150x. By Arthur E. Smith, London.

Housefly proboscis. Commercial production of the Keystone View Company, USA, ca. 1900.