the ‘stereogranimator’ web tool by the new york public library lets users transform stereograph images like the one above to 3D digital images ‘green room in the president’s house’ (1870 – 1899) image © NYPL

the ‘stereogranimator‘ is a web application created by the new york public library (NYPL) labs team to let users generate 3D images and 3D-like animated GIFs from historical stereographs. the tool is based on the ‘reaching for the out of reach‘ project by joshua heineman.

stereography is a photography format widely used in the nineteenth century. two images, seemingly nearly identical but in fact taken at slightly different angles, could be viewed in a stereoscope to achieve a greater sense of depth than is possible from a single 2D image alone. the technique and device is the predecessor of the ‘viewmaster’ children’s toy.

the NYPL has an archive of over 40,000 stereographic images, but very few functional stereoscope viewing machines exist today. american college student joshua heineman began compiling these images into animated GIFs in photoshop, benefiting from the parallax effect of minor changes between the two perspectives  to generate the depth effect.

users can create their own 3D anaglyphs (viewable with 3D glasses) or animated GIFs on the NYPL ‘stereogranimator‘ site.

stereogranimator makes old photos 3D ‘stereogranimation’ of ‘green room in the president’s house’ created by designboom with the NYPL ‘stereogranimator’

stereogranimator makes old photos 3D ‘echo lake, franconia notch, NH’ (1865? – 1890?) image © NYPL

stereogranimator makes old photos 3D ‘stereogranimation’ of ‘echo lake’ created by designboom with the NYPL ‘stereogranimator’

stereogranimator makes old photos 3D the ‘stereogranimator’ web tool by the new york public library lets users transform stereograph images like the one above to 3D digital images ‘acrobats far from their mountain home — grizzly bears in a street at jacksonville, florida’ (1870?-1906?) image courtesy NYPL

stereogranimator makes old photos 3D ‘stereogranimation’ of ‘acrobats far from their mountain home’

stereogranimator makes old photos 3D ‘building a skyscraper, placing steel beams, metropolitan tower, new york city’ image © NYPL

stereogranimator makes old photos 3D ‘stereogranimation’ of ‘building a skyscraper’

stereogranimator makes old photos 3D stereogranimation 3D anaglyphs of (left to right): ‘method of throwing a cow – on the palodoro ranch, palodura, texas, USA’ (1905) © NYPL; ‘echo lake’

via popsci