Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- c. 1944-1950 (Creation)
- c. 1924-1927 (Creation)
- c. 1900-1914 (Creation)
- c. 1896-1904 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
1 purpose-made box containing 103 stereoscopic photographs and 3 boxes
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Name of creator
Name of creator
Biographical history
Ophtalmic / Optitian.
Name of creator
Biographical history
Film company.
Name of creator
Biographical history
British photographer and Quaker, born into a family of grocers in Leeds, England, in March 1873. After his father died and his brother took over the grocery business, Dearden Holmes appears to have moved to London. From c.1924 to 1927, he undertook a world photographic tour, photographing with a stereoscopic camera. Sunbeam Tours published Dearden Holmes' stereoscopic photographs. Photographs were also issued free inside packets of cigarettes, such as the Army Club Cigarettes series "Peeps Into Many Lands". A pair of these cards could be viewed with a Camerscope, which gave depth to the flat photographs so that they appeared three-dimensional. James Dearden Holmes died in Shanklin, Isle of Wight, England, on 24 June 1937.
Archival history
1) GI stereo photos 1-49: Not known.
2) Formerly in private possession in Bangor, Northern Ireland; acquired by Dr F. Bosch-Puche in June 2017.
3) GI stereo photos 50-99: Formerly in private possession in Scotland; at auction at Mulberry Bank Auctions, 15 Kelvin Avenue, Hillington Park, Glasgow (sale 26th-27th October 2018, lot 290).
4) GI stereo photos 100-123a: Formerly in private possession, presumably in Scotland; at auction at Bowler & Binnie Auctioneers, Unit 7-8 Lynburn Industrial Estate, Dunfermline, Fife, KY11 4JT ("Antique, Collector & Interior" online sale, 6th April 2024, lot 306).
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
1) GI stereo photos 1-49: Presented by Mr. P. Carter in 2002.
2) Presented by Dr F. Bosch-Puche in June 2017.
3) GI stereo photos 50-99: Acquired by E. Fleming on behalf of the Griffith Institute in October 2018.
4) GI stereo photos 100-123a: Acquired by E. Fleming on behalf of the Griffith Institute in April 2024.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
1) GI stereo photos 1-49 (only Egypt-related catalogued): 103 stereoscopic photographs published by Underwood & Underwood, consisting of views of Egypt (49), China (50), Europe (3), and India (1).
2) Sawyer's View-Master Model B, black bakelite (c. 1944-1947), and twelve View-Master reels with seven pictures of Egypt each (© 1950): 3301 'Cairo, Egypt'; 3302 'The Famous Mosques of Cairo, Egypt'; 3303 'The Great Pyramids and Sphinx, Giza, Egypt'; 3304 'The Tombs of the Kings, Thebes, Egypt'; 3305 'Treasures of King Tut-Ankh-Amen, Cairo, Egypt'; 3306 'The River Nile, Assuan to Cairo, Egypt'; 3307 'The Valley of the Nile, Egypt'; 3308 'People of the Nile Valley, Egypt'; 3309 'Sakkara and Memphis, Egypt'; 3310 'Luxor & El Karnak, Egypt'; 3311 'Ancient Thebes, Egypt'; and 3312 'Assuan on the Nile, Egypt'.
3) GI stereo photos 50-99: 50 stereoscopic glass positives accompanied by a handwritten numbered index of images and a Gaumont stereoscopic viewer. The positives were created in Egypt some time between 1900 and 1914. Views include Alexandria, Cairo (street scenes and inside the Egyptian Museum), the pyramids at Giza, the Luxor Temple, the Valley of the Kings, and Aswan.
4) GI stereo photos 100-123 (photos), 123a (viewer): 24 stereoscopic photographs accompanied by a black metal stereoscopic viewer, photographed by J. Dearden Holmes (published by Sunbeam Tours London), consisting of views of ancient and modern Egypt.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Kept as received.
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Property of the Griffith Institute. No restrictions.
Conditions governing reproduction
- 1-2) Copyright not established, but the Smithsonian American Art Museum should be consulted regarding 1) and General Aniline & Film (GAF) regarding 2).
- 3) Copyright Griffith Institute, University of Oxford.
- 4) Copyright Griffith Institute, University of Oxford.
Language of material
English
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
No problems.
Finding aids
None.
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
- 1) These are original copies. The original negatives are in the Smithsonian American Art Museum (Underwood & Underwood Glass Stereograph Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History: http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/siris_arc_140271).
- 2) These are original copies. Location of original negatives not known.
- 3) These are original copies. Location of original negatives not known.
- 4) These are original copies. Location of original negatives not known.
Existence and location of copies
1-4) Not known.
Related units of description
Griffith Institute Archive:
- Three boxes containing a total of 176 lantern slides. Presented together with 1) by the same donor.
- TAA iii.27: ‘Discovering TutAnkhAmun in 3D: Stereoscopic Installation Photographs of the Ashmolean Exhibition, 24 July – 2 November, 2014’ by Jenni Navratil.
Publication note
Not known.