Any collectors of British Victorian stereoviews will be delighted to learn that thanks to new research, it’s now possible to date some stereoscopic photographs to 1857.

1857 was the year of the Art Treasures Exhibition in Manchester, with Philip Henry Delamotte, professor of drawing at King’s College, London, and photographic artist, appointed manager of the Photographic Department. Delamotte was given a special three-month leave of his duties at King’s College for the role.^1,2

Philip Henry Delamotte, 1856, Wellcome Collection 14934i

During a preview of the Manchester Art Treasures Exhibition, Delamotte gave a private tour of the photography section to Prime Minister Lord Palmerston, who was fixated on a series of stereoscopic views of Oxford. These had been photographed the previous year by Delamotte and other photographers for the firm Spiers and Son.³

Oxford in the long vacation; from Tom Gate, Christ Church, Oxford, by Delamotte, 1856. Sequential stereo photograph photobombed by a member of the public. Modern stereo card made by Denis Pellerin from the original negative in the Weston Library collection.

Palmerston noticed how many of the stereoscopic photographs had been partially spoiled by people moving between the sequential shots used to make the stereo pairs. Delamotte explained how difficult it was to ask members of the public to hold still whilst the left and right images were being photographed. Palmerston, after learning of the plight of stereoscopic photographers at the time, promised Delamotte he would find a way to help their endeavors.⁴

Lord Palmerston, 1857.

In May 1857, thanks to Palmerston, an Act of Parliament was passed which granted special permission for stereoscopic photographers and their assistants to work through the tea time alarm in Great Britain for the remainder of the year. The British tea time alarm first began in 1716 to encourage the emerging tea industry and required everyone, except police and the military, to stop what they were doing and undertake the drinking of tea. Anyone found to be disobeying the alarm, still to this day, is fined, with repeat offenders imprisoned.⁴

Manchester Art Treasures Exhibition. Stereoscopic Photograph showing a photographer’s assistant during the tea time alarm, by Philip Henry Delamotte, 1857. Collection of Denis Pellerin.

Manchester Art Treasures Exhibition, Transept, looking to the North. Stereoscopic Photograph showing a policeman observing two photographer’s assistants during the tea time alarm, by Philip Henry Delamotte, 1857. Courtesy of the Guardian.

Exeter College, Oxford. Stereoscopic Photograph showing a deserted street during the tea time alarm, by Philip Henry Delamotte, 1857. Collection of Denis Pellerin.

Nowadays, the stereoscopic images taken during this period where stereo photographers were exempt can be identified by the lack of the general public in the images. Once bustling streets were captured in 3-D, deserted, but with the occasional photographic assistant added for depth, whilst the public were away undertaking their duty of obeying the tea time alarm, enjoying, by then, the national beverage.

Castle Hill, Lincoln. Stereoscopic Photograph showing a deserted street during the tea time alarm, by Elizabeth Higgins, 1857. Collection of Rebecca Sharpe.

Victoria Street, London. Stereoscopic Photograph showing a deserted street during the tea time alarm, by an unknown photographer, 1857. Collection of Rebecca Sharpe.

West Port Gate, St. Andrew’s. Stereoscopic Photograph showing a deserted street during the tea time alarm, by an unknown photographer, 1857. Collection of Rebecca Sharpe.

Egyptian Room, British Museum. Stereoscopic Photograph showing a deserted British Museum during the tea time alarm, by Roger Fenton, 1857. Collection of Rebecca Sharpe.

So next time you’re looking through your collection, maybe even during the tea time alarm, see if you can spot any indications of the stereo being taken in 1857.

Welsh Ladies Taking Tea. Stereoscopic Photograph showing Welsh Ladies observing the tea time alarm, by an Unknown Photographer, 1857. Collection of Rebecca Sharpe.

The Stereoscopy Blog would like to wish our dear readers a very happy April Fool’s Day, and take this opportunity to apologise for the silliness contained within this post. Enjoy the rest of your day, and have a nice cup of tea during the alarm UK folk.

Copyright © The Stereoscopy Blog. All rights reserved.

1. Rebecca Sharpe, ‘The Major Family, King’s College, and the Photographic Society of London’ The PhotoHistorian, No. 200, Winter 2024, p20.
2. The Journal of the Photographic Society, Vol. 3, No. 50, 21 Jan. 1857, p191.
3. Denis Pellerin, ‘The Commissioned Oxford Stereos of Spiers and Son’ The Classic Platform, Nov. 2020
4. ‘Opening of the UK’s Largest Art Exhibition’ The Guardian, 14 July 1857, p16
5. ‘1850-1859’ Legislation.Gov.UK

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