Negretti & Zambra, London, stereoscope, stereoscopes, stereopticon, stereoviewer, stereoptic, stereo, view, stereoview, stereograph, stereographic, viewer, 3d, stereoscopic, National Stereoscopic Association, NSA, photography, Lewis, Anthony, James Lee, C

Negretti & Zambra, London

Enrico Negretti started in business in London in the 1850's. He was joined by Joseph Zambra in the late 1850's. They claimed to be Opticians and Meteorological and Philosophical Instrument Makers. I have no clue what a philosophical instrument was. They had several locations in London mainly at 59 Cornhill and 11 Hatton Garden. They advertised views and portraits taken at the Crystal Palace which was sometime between 1851 and 1853. There is no evidence that they were the makers of any stereoscope, rather they were most likely a retail establishment. However there offering of stereoscopic viewers was large and varied. Several fine versions of Brewster viewers were available, many on stands. Several Beckers style viewers were offered as well as stereographoscopes of French and English origin.

Shown below is a fine stereographoscope from the 1870's. The name plate is missing but has been positively identified by other similar viewers. The large magnifying glass is supported by brass rods and is stored underneath when not in use. On this model the lens board was folded back to allow use of the magnifying glass. Other model used a pin arrangement to hold the lens board.