Gezicht op het koor van Westminster Abbey te Londen c. 1850 - 1880

This stereograph shows the choir of Westminster Abbey in London, made by Valentine Blanchard in the late 19th century. Stereographs like this one were produced for popular consumption. The double image, when viewed through a special viewer, created a 3-D effect. This allowed people to experience places they might never be able to visit in person. Consider the institutional history of the Abbey itself: for centuries it has been the site of royal coronations and burials, a symbol of British power and tradition. This image flattens the grand space into a portable commodity, available to the Victorian middle class. Photographs like this one reflect the democratizing effect of new technologies on art consumption in the 19th century. To understand Blanchard's work better, one could research the history of photography, the development of tourism, and the changing role of religious institutions in Victorian society. These resources would allow us to understand the social and institutional context of the artwork.