Last updated: July 10, 2025
Article
Guide to the NPS Stereograph Collection
This finding aid describes the National Park Service (NPS) Stereograph Collection, part of the NPS History Collection. To search this guide for names, places, key words, or phrases enter Ctrl F on your keyboard (command key + F key on a Mac). Request an in-person research appointment or get more information by contacting the archivist.
Collection Overview
Collection Number: HFCA 3431
Creator: Assembled by the NPS History Collection
Title: National Park Service (NPS) Stereograph Collection
Inclusive Dates: ca. 1864-1938, 1982-1991
Bulk Dates: ca. 1864-1938
Extent: 1,274 EA
Language of Materials: English, Spanish
Digitized Copies: This collection has not been digitized.
Conditions Governing Access: This collection is open for research use. A handheld stereoscope is available.
Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use: Stereographs published prior to 1927 are in the public domain. The copyright of later stereographs has not been evaluated. See https://rightsstatements.org/page/CNE/1.0/?language=en and NPS general copyright & restrictions information for more information.
Provenance: Most of this collection was assembled by Neil Bullington and purchased jointly in 2001 by the NPS, Eastern National Parks & Monuments Association, and the National Park Trust for the NPS History Collection. Other stereographs were purchased by the NPS or received from other sources
Processing Note: This collection was processed and described by Carson Jarrell-Rouke in June 2025.
Rights Statement for Archival Description: This guide is in the public domain.
Preferred Citation: National Park Service (NPS) Stereoview Collection, NPS History Collection (HFCA 3431)
Location of Repository: NPS History Collection, Harpers Ferry Center, PO Box 50, Harpers Ferry, WV 25425
Related Materials:
- NPS Historic Photograph Collection, NPS History Collection (HFCA 1607)
- Ralph H. Anderson Stereograph Collection, NPS History Collection (HFCA 3495)
- Stereograph Card Collection at the Library of Congress includes images of national parks
Administrative History Note
A stereograph consists of two nearly identical photographic prints, taken from slightly different angles at the same time. Typically mounted on rectangular pieces of heavy cardstock, but early examples are on glass. Although some card mounts are flat, most are curved. When viewed through a stereoscope, the paired images create the illusion of a three-dimensional image. The mounts usually include captions, card numbers, publisher and/or photographer names, and sometimes dates and set numbers. Additional information such as lists of views in a series is sometimes found on the reverse of the card.
First made commercially in the 1850s, the heyday of stereographs was between 1870 and 1920. In 1859 physician and poet Oliver Wendell Holmes designed a hand-held stereoscope, making stereographs accessible to middle-class families. Many different photographic and photomechanical processes were used to create them over time. Black-and-white images were sometimes hand tinted to provide a color experience.
Both amateur photographers and publishing companies made stereographs for popular entertainment. Larger publishing companies sold them by mail order, door-to-door salesmen, and in stores, either individually or in boxed sets. People purchased stereographs as souvenirs of places they had visited or as an escape to exotic locations they would never see in person. They also became popular education tools with companies creating and marketing sets of views to schools.
Unsurprisingly, national parks and monuments were popular subjects for commercial views. When photographer Carleton E. Watkins visited Yosemite Valley in July 1861 his traveling photo studio included a stereograph camera as well as a plate camera. His photographs from this trip helped secure passage of the Yosemite Act of 1864. The earliest known stereograph of Yellowstone dates to 1871, the year before the national park was established. Although dozens of parks were featured over time, Yellowstone was arguably the most popular subject with one estimate suggesting that over 4,000 different stereograph views may have been made of the park.
Although many stereograph companies emerged, a handful dominated the market, including American Photo Company (1855-1865 in Philadelphia; 1890-1915 in New York City), Underwood & Underwood (1882-1920), Keystone View Company (1892-1963), and H.C. White (1899-1915). The popularity of this form of entertainment grew exponentially from the 1870s through the 1910s.
Interest in stereographs declined as the popularity of postcards, radio, and motion picture films began to grow. In 1915 and 1920, respectively, H.C. White and Underwood & Underwood sold their stock and image rights to Keystone View Company which issued them as new cards with a W or V, respectively, added to the number. By the mid- to late 1920s Keystone was the only remaining major producer of conventional card-mounted stereographs. The company continued to issue boxed sets of Yellowstone photos until the 1950s.
Long before the NPS was created on August 25, 1916, stereographs documented and publicized national parks. Although artists and a few well-known photographers painted and photographed the vast western landscapes which helped support the establishment of many national parks, stereographs provided average Americans a more affordable way to access and learn about the wonders of national parks.
Sources:
https://concordlibrary.org/special-collections/fin_aids/watkins (accessed May 17, 2025)
https://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/stereo/ (accessed May 17, 2025)
https://www.yellowstonestereoviews.com/index.html (accessed May 17, 2025)
Scope and Content
Stereograph cards featuring natural, cultural, and historical subjects from NPS units. Collection features multiple printing methods, including black-and-white photographs, hand-tinted black and white photographs, black-and-white lithographs, colored lithographs, and one cyanotype. Publishers of these views include Keystone View Company; Underwood & Underwood; T.W. Ingersoll, Bell & Brothers; American Illustrated; American Scenery; F. Jay Haynes; Alvord, Kellogg & Campbell; William Leach; Florida Club; George Pierron; E.& H.T. Anthony; H.E. Weaver; W.H. Tipton; H.C. White; James F. Kennedy; James Cremer; R. K. Bonine; B.W. Kilburn; Webster & Albee; N.A. Forsyth; C.R. Savage; and many others. Stereographs from Banff National Park are relevant for their views of glaciers in the Rocky Mountain Range. Also present are stereographs made by Neal Bullington, the original collector of the majority of this collection, on visits to a few NPS sites. Other amateur stereograph cards are present. Includes four box sets of park stereograph cards, some of which contain informational booklets and maps.
Organization
Organized into two series as follows:
Series I: Individual Cards, ca. 1864-1938, 1982-1991 (bulk dates: 1864-1938)
Series II: Box Sets, 1901-1904
Series I: Individual Cards, ca. 1864-1938, 1982-1991 (bulk dates: 1864-1938)
Extent of the series: 1,270 EAArranged alphabetically by NPS park code or subject.
Scope and Content Note
Individual stereographs of NPS sites, including three delisted sites now operated as state parks. Views include natural, cultural, and historical subjects. Scenes of glaciers from Banff National Park in Canada are included. Multiple printing methods, including black-and-white photographs, hand-tinted black and white photographs, black-and-white lithographs, colored lithographs, and one cyanotype are represented. Also present are stereographs made by Neal Bullington on visits to a few NPS sites. Other amateur stereograph cards are included. A small number of images from the battles of Gettysburg and Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania and the Johnstown Flood document deceased individuals or animals.Table 1: Series I Inventory
This table provides available information about the park, caption, publisher, date, photographer, and other comments. Additional descriptive information has been added in square brackets. This table uses park, program, and regional office codes common within the NPS. For assistance deciphering NPS codes, see Historic Listing of NPS Park, Program, and Office Codes.
Stereographs featuring deceased individuals or animals are present. In-person researchers may ask to have these removed from the boxes prior to access. Also please note that the captions and punctuation are direct transcriptions from the cards and may include outdated or offensive language. Em dashes have been replaced with colons due to formatting requirements of the table.
Use the search box below to search within the table.
| Park | Caption | Company | Date | Photographer | Comment |
|---|
Series II: Box Sets, 1901-1904
Extent of the series: 4 EAArranged alphabetically by set title.
Scope and Content Note
Four box sets of stereographs featuring national parks. Sets are Grand Canon of Arizona Through the Stereoscope (1904) by Underwood & Underwood; Yellowstone Through the Stereoscope (1904) by Underwood & Underwood; Yellowstone through the Stereoscope, Volume 1 (undated) by Keystone, and Yosemite Valley (1901-1904) by Underwood & Underwood. The Yellowstone sets include informational booklets or maps keyed to the views. Combined these four sets comprise 124 cards.Table 2: Series II Inventory
This table provides available information about the park, caption, publisher, date, and other comments. No specific photographers have been identified for these images. Additional descriptive information has been added in square brackets. This table uses park, program, and regional office codes common within the NPS. For assistance deciphering NPS codes, see Historic Listing of NPS Park, Program, and Office Codes.
The captions and punctuation are direct transcriptions from the cards and may include outdated or offensive language. Em dashes have been replaced with colons due to formatting requirements of the table.
Use the search box below to search within the table.
| Volume Title | Caption | Company | Date | Comment |
|---|
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