The conventional method of viewing stereoscopic photographs in the last century was to use a viewer which held a pair of images, and which enabled each eye to see only one; by fusing these together a three dimensional effect was recreated.

It was W. Rollman who in 1853 first illustrated the principle of the anaglyph using blue and red lines on a black field with red and blue glasses to perceive the effect, but this was for line drawings only. In 1858 Joseph D'Almeida began projecting three-dimensional magic lantern slide shows using red and green filters with the audience wearing red and green goggles.

It is to Louis Ducas du Hauron that we owe the first printed anaglyphs, produced in 1891. This process consisted of printing the two negatives which form a stereoscopic photograph on to the same paper, one in blue (or green), one in red.

The viewer would then use coloured glasses with red (for the left eye) and blue or green (right eye). The left eye would see the blue image which would appear black, whilst it would not see the red; similarly the right eye would see the red image, this registering as black. Thus a three dimensional image would result.


By Dr. Robert Leggat