General Dwight D Eisenhower
 with his Stereo Realist Camera

Invented by Sir Charles Wheatstone in 1838, stereo photography was exhibited at the 1851 World's Fair in London, where it caught the eye of Queen Victoria. Her enthusiasm for the new form of entertainment soon made stereo photography fashionable, and the technique enjoyed nearly half a century of popularity. 

      
 Stereo Realist Camera Model 1041 (1958)  has f/3.5 lenses 
Stereo Realist Camera History: Hungarian immigrant, David White, founded the David White Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. An instrument maker, White started his company in 1895 with the assistance of relatives residing in the Milwaukee area and established a partnership with Charles Klaweither in 1900. The two men began manufacturing drawing and surveying equipment. Despite its commitment to the manufacturing of surveying equipment, the David White Company is often most recognized for its brief production of the sensational Stereo Realist camera 

The Stereo Realist Camera company also marketed special viewers (to view both slides and prints) 3D projectors, film cutters, slide mounting aids and cases. These vintage postcards where meant to be viewed through the 3D Realist to appreciate the full aspect 3 dimensional photography

Stereo viewers come in many forms, from cheap, point-to-the-light varieties to more sophisticated, expensive viewers with built-in illumination. It is generally accepted that the best viewers were made during the golden era of stereo photography (1950-1955) Most of these viewers can be found today in the used camera equipment market. The most common is the Realist ST-61 Red-Button (seen above)