Stereo analysis
AnalyzedVerdict
Genuine stereo pair97%
The two photographs contain the viewpoint difference needed to produce genuine depth.
- Depth spread
- 9px
- The range of horizontal difference between the two views. More spread generally means more depth; 0–1 px usually indicates a monoview.
- Match
- 78%
- The share of usable picture detail that can be matched between the left and right views. A higher number means a more reliable comparison.
- Vertical
- 3px
- Vertical drift between matched details. Lower is better; 4 px or more can indicate camera movement, scan skew, or poor alignment.
A stereoview bearing the Bierstadt Brothers imprint, showing two men and a woman beside a cloth-covered counter in a low-ceilinged interior. A dog lies curled on the plank floor. A central support post and a spindle-back chair occupy the foreground.
A white pitcher, drinking glasses and stacked plates stand on the counter. Through the doorway are further chairs and shelves of crockery, suggesting an adjoining dining area. Printed notices and small photographic displays hang against patterned wallpaper. One notice includes the words “PHOTOGRAPHS” and “TIP-TOP HOUSE”; another ends “AT TABLE.”
The reverse bears the imprint “BIERSTADT BROTHERS, / Photographers, / China Hall, 39 Purchase Street, / NEW BEDFORD, MASS.” This supplies the photographers’ name and business address, rather than the location of the view.
A faint pencil note along the reverse edge draws attention to “PHOTOGRAPHS,” “TIP TOP” and “HOUSE,” evidently referring to the notice visible in both halves of the photograph. The reference offers a lead to the room’s identity, but does not securely establish its location. The figures and date remain unidentified.
- Medium
- Stereoview
- Subject
- Photography, Yellow Mount
- Dimensions
- 6.75 × 3.3 in (171.5 × 83.8 mm)
- Condition
- Small losses to the yellow facing paper at the mount corners and a small surface abrasion at the upper image join. Photographs otherwise clean and card sound.
- Provenance
- Printed verso imprint of Bierstadt Brothers, Photographers, China Hall, 39 Purchase Street, New Bedford, Massachusetts. No ownership history is supplied.
- Catalogue no.
- MSV1820
Catalogue details
Location
Bierstadt Brothers studio, China Hall, 39 Purchase Street, New Bedford · New Bedford, Massachusetts, United States
Photographed subject · Exact site · 80% confidence
Reverse imprint: "Bierstadt Brothers, Photographers, China Hall, 39 Purchase Street, New Bedford, Mass." The front shows an interior with a counter, pitchers, glasses and shelves of crockery, which fits China Hall (a crockery store) where the studio worked. The Whaling Museum places the studio at 39 Purchase St in 1865. The pin is on lower Purchase St near Union St; 1860s street numbers may not match today's exactly.
Source: Card reverse imprint + New Bedford Whaling Museum + Boston Public Library
