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The War to End all Wars
Unlike any conflict, before or since, the war in France was thoroughly documented in stereo. Even if one never read a word about WWI, these images bring home the full extent of destruction and human degradation suffered by the French. The war was equally destructive on all fronts, but stereo cameras were either rare or completely nonexistent outside of the western front. Not surprisingly, the image catalog of Jules Richard is of very high quality, serial numbered and labeled. These images can be traced. Styles of some other producers are apparent as well. Whether through recognizable serial number sequences, or even familiar hand writing of labels. There must have been a number of individuals who personally labeled thousands of slides. Then there are the illegal copies as well. How many original images were "borrowed" and sold by unscrupulous vendors? Within my own collection there are duplicates of several images, produced at drastically different levels of quality. Although plenty of both film and color still photographs exist, stereos provide a spatial orientation other media cannot convey. Check out the latrine above. As a 2D image, it's a little tough to interpret. In stereo it becomes a dehumanizing necessity in the midst of a bustling rail yard. |
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