Verascope stereoscopic glass slides: One of two similar batches of World War 1 stereoscopic photographs that I am presently selling, this being a rare collection of 15 images providing a graphic insight into a soldier's life at front line in France during World War 1. This collection, which is in the standard Richard Verascope (45mm x 107mm) format, comprises unique and unpublished images, including numerous hand-annotated examples. Included are scenes of important WW1 battlegrounds including Verdun, Fleury, Tracy-le Val, The Battle of Perthes, The Battle of Malmaison, Nieuport and Calonne.

A number of the images depict soldiers in their dugout trenches. Others show troops marching outside a public house daubed in paint with 'Gott Strafe England 1914-15' (a popular Nazi anti-British slogan at the time meaning 'May God Punish England'), French and German casualties at Fleury (the French annotation reading 'Cadavres Francais et allemands a Fleury', massed troops being briefed before the onslaught at the Battle of Verdun (in French, 'A Verdun: La messes avant l'attaque) and wounded German Troops at a first aid station at Fort Douaumont ('Douaumont - blesses boches au poste de secours).

Thanks to the magic of stereoscopy, these images provide remarkable depth of field. The technique involves matching two nearly identical photographs, each from a slightly different angle. When viewed through a suitable stereoscope, the brain is fooled into seeing three dimensions - bringing these historic scenes to life.

15 glass slides, complete with box.

Please see my other listings if you would like to buy a stereoscope suitable for viewing these images in three dimensions, also for another similar batch of glass slides from the same source.