LS&Co. Unzipped

Welcome to our blog. Here’s where you’ll find a “behind-the-seams” look at what’s going on with Levi Strauss & Co. You’ll hear from a variety of voices, from both inside and outside the company. And you have the chance to share your thoughts. So read on — and weigh in!

Apr 12 2012

Seeing Double

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, cowboys and the American West were among the most popular subjects for the exciting field of photography. And one of the most popular formats was the stereoview.

First used in the U.S. in the 1850s, the stereoview was produced by a camera with two lenses. When developed, two separate pictures, 2 ½ inches apart, were mounted on a card. When this card was placed into the holder of a special viewer, the image would appear in 3-D. This innovation was as fascinating to early 20th century consumers as it is to movie-goers today. And if you’re old enough to remember the Viewmaster from the 1960s, then you’ll know exactly what the experience was like.

The Levi Strauss & Co. Archives recently acquired a stereoview of cowboys at the Sierra Bonita Ranch in Arizona in 1903. This was a very famous western cattle outfit, about 80 miles east of Tucson, and is now a National Historic Landmark.

The caption on the image says, “Cowboys examining a yearling’s brand to settle a dispute, Sierra Bonita Ranch, Arizona.”

Look closely and you’ll see why we bought it for the company’s photo collections: There’s more than one pair of Levi’s® 501® jeans on those cowboys.

Stereoviewer image, courtesy Martha's Vineyard Times and Martha's Vineyard Museum.

Posted By: Lynn Downey, Historian, Levi Strauss & Co.

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