The First World War was the first truly global conflict which left its mark on every nation of the world.  Few communities or families escaped its devastating reach with many mourning the loss of entire generations. Those that returned often refused to speak of their experiences and today we often see the same old images or newsreel footage to give us an insight of the life experienced in the 'Great War'.

 

Stereo photography and stereo viewers had been something of a craze for the Victorians, most of whom would never see for themselves the magnificence of far off and exotic locations from around the globe. Stereo photography was an amazing technology that didn't just allow them to see a view but to immerse themselves in that location as if they were there themselves. By the time of the First World War many of the more affluent households would have had a stereo viewer and some stereoscopic cards to keep themselves amused.

 

As the war began, a number of companies were already busy capturing the world in stereo for the enjoyment and education of their customers. As hostilities increased they scrambled to get the best photographs to record the war.

 

This book is a collection of some of those photographs presented both as original stereo pairs for those with a suitable viewer and as anaglyph images suitable for viewing with the supplied glasses. They offer a unique photographic journey through the war that documents its bloody progression and allows us to glimpse first hand, a realistic view only previously available to those that were there.

 

(Please note that it's important when viewing the images that the glasses are worn with the Red lens over the left eye and the Blue lens over the right eye).