British Vintage Stereoscopy — Viewer
Stereo Puck
A catalogue entry from the collection
| Name | Stereo Puck |
| Manufacturer | Thornton-Pickard, Altrincham |
| Date Period | Company 1888-1939, Viewer c. 1931-35 |
| Materials | Metal, glass |
| Format | Stereo Photos taken with Stereo Puck Camera |
Thornton-Pickard Stereo Puck viewer.
The viewer folded.
The mysterious box - which fits the Stereo Puck viewer but does NOT fit a camerascope.
Some years ago, I won an eBay auction for some Camerascope views and a couple of different viewers, 1 of which - so it said on the box - was a Camerascope viewer. This was just when I was starting to collect the views, and I thought a spare viewer can't hurt, although it looked a bit different to the one I had. I didn't know a lot, back then.
It arrived. I opened it up and was greeted with a small, foldable metal viewer with glass lenses but crucially, rather shorter than a Camerascope. However, I put in views made for the camerascope - and none were properly visible - whether it be regular Sunbeam Tours views or Cavanders cigarette cards. The box it came in (see above) said Camerascope - and was a perfect fit for the viewer that contained it - but the viewer clearly wasn't one. Oddly enough the box was too small for the actual Camerascope I had at the time, too - and no Camerascope I've had before or after has had that box either. So why does the box say Camerascope?! I've seen a couple of these viewers on eBay in that box too, which can't be coincidence. If anyone does know what that blue box was designed for, please enlighten me - at the moment I'm thinking it was Thornton-Pickard identifying their viewer as a camerascope, which at the time would have been well known. But then surely "camerascope" would have been a brand name already in use...
So this viewer was a mystery. However, after some detective work, I identified it as the rather oddly named Thornton-Pickard Stereo Puck. I've since seen pictures of one with branding on, to identify it - mine had none, so I guess the branding was via a sticker.
Briefly, Thornton-Pickard as a company were formed in 1888 and were well known as manufacturers of quality photographic equipment, including cameras. Around 1931 they released a stereo camera - the Stereo Puck, which sold for 21 shillings complete with viewer! And it was that viewer that came in that eBay purchase. This wasn't the first time they'd made a stereo camera incidentally; they also created the Royal Ruby stereo camera in around 1908. This however, is their first viewer I can find.
The camera used 120 film (which is still available today) and the idea was the user would take their own stereo photos which would be developed and printed, then stuck on card and viewed using the viewer. So I couldn't use it, not having any photos taken with the accompanying camera - but iot apparently works very well for those. Eventually I sold mine on to another collector - as my main focus is collecting views and not viewers - but that was long before I conceived this website; perhaps I should have kept it after all! The photos on this page are of the one I had, however.
From the information I could find, the camera and viewer were available for just a few years in the 1930s, with a newer version of the camera created in 1933; the company itself closed down in 1939.
For a full guide on how to use the Stereo Puck camera and make stereo pictures for viewing in this viewer, I urge you to take a look at the excellent Stereoscopy Blog link below. For more photos and information on the company, camera and viewer, please check out the other links too. At the time of writing, I have no views for this one but if I ever come across any, I'll be sure to try and get them, and put them on here.
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