Publishers

Underwood & Underwood

Underwood & Underwood grew into one of the largest and most influential publishers of stereographs in the world. By the turn of the 20th century, the company had moved its headquarters to New York City and was producing millions of stereographs annually, covering subjects from everyday life to major world events. They dispatched sixty-year-old James Ricalton to document the Japanese army.

Their stereographs often have detailed descriptions on the back, orienting the viewers and explaining exactly what they are looking at. They even contain anecdotes from Ricalton himself, such as when he was nearly hit by Russian return fire after capturing a Japanese shell in mid-air (click here to view). Ernest Rann wrote in his article “Round the World with a Stereograph” that Ricalton’s accomplishment with this image fulfilled a prophecy made by Oliver Wendell Holmes that one day “a bursting shell would be photographed.”

Keystone View Company

The Keystone View Company quickly rose to become the largest producer of stereographs in the world during the early 20th century, eventually surpassing earlier leaders such as Underwood & Underwood. The identity of their photographer in Manchuria remains unknown. Keystone’s collection of Russo-Japanese War stereographs appeared in multiple iterations, some accompanied by printed texts on the verso and others left blank. The content of these texts varied considerably—at times expressing admiration for the Japanese army, while at other times favoring Russia and framing its cause within a white supremacist agenda.

T. W. Ingersoll

T. W. Ingersoll stands out from the other stereograph companies for its colored prints, produced using a CMY halftone printing process. There are two variations of the series, one with images set against a green background and another against white. It is unclear which was made first. The company sent the young and inexperienced photographer Richard Barry, who also published Port Arthur: A Monster Heroism in 1905. Barry tells a number of stories about Underwood & Underwood’s photographer James Ricalton and another artist documenting the war, Frederick Villiers. A later version of the original black and white stereographs were also published.