Gezicht op het Pavillon Sévigné in Vichy c. 1850 - 1880

This stereoscopic print of the Pavillon Sévigné in Vichy was produced by Henri Alexis Omer Tournier, using photographic techniques common in the 19th century. Photography in this era was a complex and laborious process. The photographer would have used a large format camera and glass plate negatives, coated with light-sensitive emulsion. Each print required careful development and fixing, often involving a darkroom tent on location. Stereoscopic images like this one were created using a special camera with two lenses, mimicking human vision to create a 3D effect when viewed through a stereoscope. The sepia tone we see here is a result of the chemical processes used to develop the print, giving it a warm, aged appearance. The creation of this photograph involved a significant amount of manual skill and technical knowledge. This print is not just an image, but also an artifact of early photographic technology, reflecting the labor and craftsmanship involved in its creation. Appreciating this, we can see photography as a form of material culture.