GUILDFORD.- Opening at Watts Gallery on 4 July 2023, Victorian Virtual Reality presents highlights from the Brian May Archive of Stereoscopy to explore the 19th-century photography craze that, for the first time, enabled pictures to appear in 3D.

Featuring over 150 stereoscopic photographs that visitors will be able to experience through a wide range of viewers and digital techniques, Victorian Virtual Reality will show why this lesser-known Victorian innovation continues to be captivating today.

Audiences will be introduced to the 19th-century art of stereoscopy, which saw a second wave of popularity in the mid-20th century. It was then that the young Sir Brian May – later the lead guitarist for Queen – developed his passion for this photographic phenomenon and began to assemble his world-leading collection of stereoscopy. The interactive exhibition will explore the wide breadth of subject matter found in Sir Brian’s collection, from celebrity portraits to snapshots of Victorian life and travel. Stereoscopic photographs and paintings from Watts Gallery Trust’s own collection will also feature among the loaned works.

Sir Brian May’s interest in stereoscopic photography was sparked when, aged 12, he found a free stereoscopic card in a box of Weetabix which pictured a pair of hippos. The Weetabix packet bore the instruction “Send One and Sixpence and a packet top, and we will send you a Vistascreen viewer, so you can see your cards in magnificent 3-D realism." Brian sent off for the viewer, was captivated by the result, and so began a lifelong passion which has created one of the largest archives of stereoscopic images in the world.

Stereoscopic photographs comprise two images of the same scene taken from slightly different viewpoints. When these are mounted side by side and viewed through a stereoscope, the observer sees just one three-dimensional image. The experience of seeing these pictures fuse into one, and having the chance to virtually transport oneself into another place, would have been a truly thrilling experience for Victorian viewers. Stereoscopic photographs eventually became affordable, and in the late 1850s and 1860s they circulated world-wide in their tens of thousands.

Victorian Virtual Reality will be the first exhibition at Watts Gallery dedicated to stereoscopy. It will be presented thematically, opening with an introduction to the phenomenon and early images from Sir Brian May’s collection, including his first ever stereoscopic photograph – the Weetabix hippos - and examples of the earliest viewing devices and photographs of Victorians at home, sharing and viewing their own collections of images.

In Portraiture, visitors will see how the stereoscopic photographic format was used for all types of portraits, from famous celebrities such as Charles Dickens and G F Watts’s first wife, Ellen Terry, to informal group scenes. This section will also include amateur snaps, from the Watts Gallery Trust collection, taken by artist Henry Holiday of his family, reminding viewers of the popularity of stereoscopy as a Victorian middle-class pastime.

A section on Art and Artists will feature stereoscopic images of sculpture, staged recreations of paintings, and artist studios, including a rare image of a Victorian female artist studio, that of Florence Small from the Watts Gallery Trust collection.

Victorian Life will shed light on the day-to-day life of Victorians through images created away from the formal photographer’s studio. This section will bring in an element of social history, highlighting widespread concern for the poor, such as the plight of seamstresses.




This section will also present work by Eliza Allen (née Calvert, 1816-1900), the only female photographer represented in the Archive. Allen was one of just a few women stereo photographers working in the early days of stereoscopy.

Travel will show how, with the arrival of stereoscopy, Victorians could be virtually transported to the wonders of the world, from Stonehenge to the Pyramids of Giza.

Finally, exploring the Victorian fascination with death and the occult, a Fantasy section featuring ‘Diableries’ – scenes of devils and skeletons in the underworld – and ghostly images will provide insight into the darker, more demonic side of stereoscopy.

Dr Emily Burns, Lead Curator of Victorian Virtual Reality and Curator at Watts Gallery – Artists’ Village, said: “Stereoscopy was the precursor for today’s virtual reality and digital 3D experiences. Many visitors to the Victorian Virtual Reality exhibition will be familiar with using View-Masters or watching films in 3D, but perhaps not so many will know that this fascination for making the 2D appear in more realistic relief has its origins in a Victorian craze that began over a century ago. Stereoscopy was a wildly popular and democratic technology and artform, allowing anyone who could buy or borrow a viewer and cards to encounter celebrities, transport themselves to far-flung places, feel closer to rare works of art and be entertained by theatrical tableaux.”

“We’re delighted to partner with the Brian May Archive of Stereoscopy on this exciting project, and hope that our audiences will enjoy learning about this cutting-edge Victorian technology and engaging with the interactive elements of the display.”

Rebecca Sharpe and Denis Pellerin, Co-Curators of the Brian May Archive of Stereoscopy and Co-Curators of the exhibition said:

“This is the first major exhibition of Sir Brian May’s collection and we are thrilled Watts Gallery gave us the opportunity to show these incredible images to the public and share our passion for Victorian 3-D. We hope visitors will enjoy travelling back in time and immersing themselves into the world and lives of our nineteenth-century counterparts. By identifying key themes we will highlight the extraordinary breadth and depth of Sir Brian May’s collection which now totals over 200,000 photographs.”

Sir Brian May said: “I’m very grateful to the Watts Gallery for hosting this exhibition entirely devoted to Stereoscopy. This will be the first opportunity for me and my curators to share with the public many original and digitally reproduced 3-D images from BMAS - the Brian May Archive of Stereoscopy. The archive now gives a home to the collection of stereo images I have been assembling for over sixty years.”

Alistair Burtenshaw, Brice Director and Chief Executive, Watts Gallery Trust, said: “The Brian May Archive of Stereoscopy is recognised as world-leading, and we are thrilled to be bringing together highlights from this remarkable collection with work from the Watts Gallery Trust collection for this exhibition. Visitors will discover the 19th-century origins of virtual reality and will see how, just as today, new technologies are captivating.”

“On behalf of Watts Gallery Trust, I want to thank Sir Brian May and the BMAS Curators. It is an honour that the first major exhibition of work from this incredible archive will be here at Watts Gallery – Artists’ Village.”

Victorian Virtual Reality: Photographs from the Brian May Archive of Stereoscopy opens at Watts Gallery on 4 July 2023 (until 25 February 2024). A programme of events will accompany the exhibition.