Chain-Stereoscope ‚Bund für Vogelschutz‘ with original image set

This table­top stere­o­scope is housed in a sol­id beech­wood cab­i­net and was man­u­fac­tured by For­tu­na-Werke Albert Hirth in Cannstatt-Stuttgart. The stereo­scop­ic images are viewed through large eye­pieces with adjustable inter­pupil­lary dis­tance. A rotary han­dle on the right advances the inter­nal mech­a­nism and presents the images in sequence.
The stere­o­scope con­tains an orig­i­nal series of stereo­scop­ic pho­tographs pro­duced for the Bund für Vogelschutz (Asso­ci­a­tion for the Pro­tec­tion of Birds), depict­ing pre­dom­i­nant­ly birds but also oth­er ani­mals such as elk. Each pho­to­graph is pre­ced­ed by a glass title plate announc­ing the fol­low­ing sub­ject. The cab­i­net was most like­ly designed for pub­lic or semi-pub­lic use and orig­i­nal­ly oper­at­ed by means of a coin mechanism.
The com­bi­na­tion of a coin-oper­at­ed stere­o­scope with a ded­i­cat­ed wildlife series illus­trates the use of stereo­scop­ic pho­tog­ra­phy not only for enter­tain­ment, but also for pub­lic edu­ca­tion and the pro­mo­tion of nature conservation.
The manufacturer’s des­ig­na­tion, the association’s name, and the late Art Nou­veau design of the title plates sug­gest a pro­duc­tion date around 1910 or short­ly before the First World War.