Steretta Scope W-DX

Japan, 1980s

The Steretta Scope looks more like a piece of finely made furniture than a stereoscope, which is unusual for a stereoscope made in the 1980s. Produced and sold in Japan in 1984 by Toa Photo Company, then known as Diamond Camera, it was handcrafted in high-quality domestic cherry wood, mounted on a base, and made in very limited numbers. The 24K gold-plated numbered tag on the base is a fancy touch.

The complete Steretta set includes a wooden storage case holding the Time Machine “Meiji Japan” series, with 48 landscape views (Volume 1), 48 scenes of customs and manners (Volume 2), and 18 views of the Russo-Japanese War (Volume 3). All 114 stereoviews are photographic reproductions of early 1900s Keystone, Underwood, and Kilburn views. Our set also includes the supplemental A, B, and C stereoview sets, which add another 79 Russo-Japanese War stereoviews.