Details: In 1861 Oliver Wendell Holmes created and deliberately did not patent a handheld, streamlined, much more economical viewer than had been available before. The stereoscope, which dates from the 1850s, consisted of two prismatic lenses and a wooden stand to hold the stereo card. This type of stereoscope remained in production for a century and there are still companies making them in limited production currently.
Holmes Stereoscope Specs and Info…
Headset: Holmes Stereoscope
Manufacturer: Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.
Announced Date: August 1861
Release Date: Unknown
Launch Price: Unknown
Device Type: Other
Display: N/A
Diagonal Field of View(FOV): 40°
Refresh Rate: N/A
Weight: 165 g (0.36 lb)
CPU: N/A
GPU: N/A
Battery: N/A
Tracking: N/A
Controllers: N/A
Our Thoughts: We moved forward to 1861 to meet Oliver Wendell Holmes who created the “Holmes Stereoscope” and we are starting to reach a stage in the HMD’s life when it looks very similar to what we know and love today. Growing onwards from Brewster Stereoscope Holmes decided not to patent his handheld out of respect for Brewsters invention (even though he didn’t invent it Sir Charles Wheatstone did.)
As you can see this is another handheld device but with a very recognisable face cover for better viewing of the stereoscopic images. Holmes who was a writer by trade hand whittled his stereoscope from oak making his own design look better, stronger and much more affordable than other imported viewers from Europe. It’s also a much-streamlined device and with 2 prismatic lenses and a wooden stand to hold the stereo card and as an added bonus it was foldable!