Johnson-Shaw Stereoscopic Museum

In 1892, in a small town in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, amateur photographer B.L. Singley founded the Keystone View Company. What started as a humble, one-man show bloomed into the world-leading producer of stereographic materials. 

Invented in England in 1838 by Sir Charles Wheatstone, a stereograph is a set of two near-identical photos mounted side-by-side that, when viewed through a special set of lenses (the stereoscope), morph into a seemingly three-dimensional, single image. The advancement in optical technology wowed Victorian-era crowds and became a precursor to motion pictures. 

Today, at the Meadville-based museum, a vast collection of stereoviews, lantern slides, documents, and equipment is on view. 

Like present-day photojournalists, Keystone photographers traveled the world to cover some of the largest events in history. Some of the most popular slide themes included skyscrapers, railroads, world leaders and sports heroes, and sights from around the world. Over time, the slides evolved from novelty entertainment to sets that covered educational topics for schools, coverage of major world events and wartime tragedies.

By 1895, the company had issued roughly 700 different stereo views and moved into stereoscope production. By 1905, Keystone was the largest company of its kind in the world, with outposts in Chicago, New York, London, and Toronto. At the height of production, the company had roughly 20,000 images, and by 1921, had gobbled up the negatives and catalogs of nearly all of its competitors.

As decades rolled on, and with the rise of motion pictures and television, Keystone pivoted to ophthalmic equipment production. The Davenport, Iowa-based Mast Development Company bought Keystone in 1963 and continued producing optical equipment.