| Existing comment:
Before the era of easy-to-use portable cameras, stereoviews gave visitors realistic, three-dimensional souvenirs of the Capitol. Grand spaces such as the House Chamber and decorative details of the East Rotunda's bronze doors were parts of a virtual tour for Victorian households. Later, guidebooks, such as Roose's Companion and Guide to Washington and Vicinity, included advertisements of Jarvis' Photographic Emporium -- just a block from the Capitol -- attesting to the popularity and commercial viability of stereoviews. |