The Stereoscopic Society was originally established in England in 1893 by a
small group of active stereo photographers to circulate their work among the
membership by means of postal folios. It is now the oldest surviving stereo
organization in the world whose common roots are shared by independent
offshoots in North America, Australia, and New Zealand, as well as the
parent organization in the United Kingdom. As in the beginning, the members
are united by a love of creating three dimensional images and sharing them
with others. This sharing is accomplished by postal folios in which each
member of the circuit has entered a stereograph for the other members to
view and comment upon.
When a folio arrives, a member of the circuit views and comments on each of
the entries of the other participants. His or her own view, which has
traveled the circuit and has been commented on by the other members, is
removed and replaced by a new entry. The folio then continues its endless
travels around the route list. The success of the concept of the
Stereoscopic Society can be judged, it would seem, by its survival ... which
has now enjoyed more than a full century of activity.
The Stereoscopic Postal Exchange Club was founded in 1893 and in 1896 the
name was changed to The Stereoscopic Society. The American Branch of the
Stereoscopic Society was organized early in 1919, just after the end of
World War I, by Walter S. Cotton, then of Portland, OR (and later Los
Angeles, CA). It had initially about 10-15 members, it would appear,
including Walter¹s wife Rose Cotton. At that time stereographs were in the
form of monochromatic prints mounted on 3 1/2 x 7 " cards. Such prints
circulated for many years in domestic as well as international folios and
until mid-century were the mainstay of the Society. Allowing for wartime
interruptions, this activity continued well into the 1970s when it was “modernized” in order to adapt to changes in
photographic methods and
materials.
In 1951 the OX group was inaugurated in England to circulate transparencies.
Although large size B&W transparencies had been appearing in the regular
folios, the appearance of color transparencies, primarily in the Realist
style mounts, had opened a new door. Some traditionalists demurred, but most
other members started playing with the new system, at least as a sideline in
their hobby. The OX folios accepted Realist format (transparency pairs
mounted in 4” x 1.625” mounts) and it became, almost immediately, the
universal choice of the circuit members in America, Australia, and New
Zealand as well as the United Kingdom. The American Secretary for this
endeavor was Mr. Richmond Strong of San Francisco, CA, who thereby formed
what still exists as the American Alpha Transparency Circuit. These OX
folios are still operating as envisioned.
Independent, but related, branches are still in full operation in the four
countries as the Society continues into its second century doing what it was
designed to do ... enjoy 3D imaging by making and sharing stereo views.
The American Branch in 1977 affiliated with the National Stereoscopic
Association and in 1990 changed its name to The Stereoscopic Society of
America. It is about equally active in both print and transparency formats.
A new Cyber Circuit is exploring the realm of computer 3D and its place in
our future, much as the OX circuits did for 35mm color film a half century
ago.
![[SSA Logo]](../images/logo3.gif){kind=logo}
