LE TAXIPHOTE 
STEREOSCOPIC
                VIEWER 
Sánchez de Prado Collection


Mahogany wood, glass and metal
h: 124.5 cm; l: 32 cm; w: 32 cm
Beginning of the 20th century
 

Mahogany piece composed of two prismatic shaped bodies. The lower section is a rectangular cabinet mounted on four legs with ball feet and a front door, inside which there are fourteen drawers. Each drawer has four compartments where four cartridges fit, each holding, vertically, twenty five stereo slides. The upper body contains the viewing mechanism and two orifices with lenses. On the sides there are two metal drop handles. The back is covered with white translucent glass and there is a reclining upper lid. The viewer appears to have a very functional and sombre design. There are two plaques: the upper one reads Le Taxiphote. Stéréo-classeur. Distributeur automatique. Breveté. S.G.D.G.; and the other with instructions on how it works.

In line with the West’s love of photography, the various types of stereoscopic viewer became very popular. The viewer on display works by putting a cartridge of slides inside the upper part of the viewer, and by twisting a knob; the slides are moved up until they are in between the lenses and the entrance of the back light, in the field of view. A knob, located on the side, selects the desired slide, out of a possible twenty five. There is another knob to adjust the lenses and a front indicator to view the number of the slide being looked at. The text written on the slides can also be viewed by using another knob. By looking at these slides through the visor a three dimensional image can be viewed.
CS: 12217
Unpublished