About: Contrary to a common assertion, David Brewster did not invent the stereoscope, as he himself was often at pains to make clear. A rival of Wheatstone, Brewster credited the invention of the device to a Mr Elliot, a “Teacher of Mathematics” from Edinburgh, who, according to Brewster, conceived of the idea as early as 1823 and, in 1839, constructed “a simple stereoscope without lenses or mirrors”, consisting of a wooden box 18 inches (46 cm) long, 7 inches (18 cm) wide and 4 inches (10 cm) high, which was used to view drawn landscape transparencies, since photography had yet to become widespread. Brewster’s personal contribution was the suggestion to use lenses for uniting the dissimilar pictures in 1849, and accordingly, the lenticular stereoscope (lens-based) may fairly be said to be his invention. This allowed a reduction in size, creating hand-held devices, which became known as Brewster Stereoscopes, much admired by Queen Victoria when they were demonstrated at the Great Exhibition of 1851.
Brewster Stereoscope Specs…
Headset: Brewster Stereoscope
Manufacturer: Sir David Brewster
Release Date: 1849
Display Type: Stereoscope
Launch Price: 3 Shillings
Estimated Value: $150,000 – $300,000
Field of View(FOV): 30°
Weight: Unknown
From the original Wheatstone stereoscope, we move on just 11 years to 1849. Called a lenticular stereoscope it was the first stereoscope to feature lenses. This was a big step forward for the stereoscope era because it meant the viewing devices were smaller, portable and now could be used in an HMD!
Many people think that it was this inventor “David Brewster” who was accredited with inventing the stereoscope has a whole, but that is simply not true. He just upgraded the original Wheatstone stereoscope. But to be fair to brewster it was a big step forward in a very short space of time. The inclusion of the lenses and their curvatures is still used today in all VR headsets even phone mountable ones. What is really interesting is the shape of the handheld device. While it might look like a pair of binoculars at the moment it didn’t take long for them to take shape into something we are all a little familiar with.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereoscope