STEREOSCOPIC PHOTOGRAPHY
Stereography was the commercial boom
of the second half of the 19th century.
Oliver Wendell Holmes and Sir David Brewster invented and patented their stereoscopes,
whose consumer versions had a low cost. These stereoscopes easily allowed
all social classes to create a “home theatre” for their home entertainment,
considering that at that time there were no TVs, computers, cinematographs,
pubs and discos.
STEREOPHOTOGRAPHY AND EARLY REPORTAGE
The stereoscopic pictures
here shown are taken from Eugene Sevaistre’s collection. This French
photographer took pictures in Palermo at the time of Garibaldi’s landing
in Sicily.
During the truce between the Bourbons and Garibaldi’s army, Eugene Sevaistre,
with insight and entrepreneurship, took the opportunity to make his own personal
reportage on Palermo’s bombing by the Bourbon ships anchored in front
of today’s “Marina” (Palermo’s coastal area).
These images lack action: it looks like everything were hanging and about
to fall, like the ruins of the bombed buildings, which had fallen down or
which were about to fall. Indeed, taking a picture was a long process because
of the long exposure time needed. The existence of human beings can be perceived
in those figures that can be called “photographic ghosts”, that
is, shadowy images of inhabitants of Palermo, who were there when the picture
was taken, and who were moving. This makes us think that our photographer
might have taken pictures even during the fights because otherwise none of
the bystanders would have moved. They would have struck a pose and taken part
in the job of the photographer..... or they were not able to conceive the
power of the photographic “medium”, which can carry reality over
the centuries.
However, in order to give a complete account, we have to point out that at
that time photography had a considerable strategic importance for the most
prominent people. For example, in Les Mémoires de Garibaldi, Alexandre
Dumas reports his conversation with Garibaldi who asks:
“Is there a photographer with you?”
“Of course, General, I have the best one, the Frenchman Le Gray!”
“Good, my dear Dumas, it’s good that the whole world will know
about the havoc caused by these cowardly Bourbons in Palermo.
.......
but let’s have a look at these stereoscopic pictures, let’s listen
to the images and let’s bring a fragment of the Italian history back
to life. To see images, go to italian page 
