The Russo-Japanese War Set (6 slides)

I had to look up a podcast on this war since it didn't ring any of the handful of "History Facts" that still rattle around in my brain. Turns out, it was a pretty small war with pretty HUGE repercussions.

I'm no historian, but here's the gist.

In 1904, Japan had opened its borders after having completely shut down all trade and foreign visitors into and out of the country. Basically, after a regime change, they started trading, etc. and quickly got up to speed with modern weaponry (among other things) by making deals with allies.

Then, Russia comes along and wants to take part of Korea as its own because the Tsar was unpopular and needed a distraction. Japan didn't want all-out war with a huge super-power, and Russia knew it so they basically messed with the Japanese at the negotiating table.

Finally, Japan got tired of it and threw down by declaring war...three hours after bombing the Russian Fleet. Russia (and most of the world, quite frankly) thought that white people were so much better at war (add the fact that Japan was just a baby on the world stage) that the Japanese would have zero chance at winning. Japan won though, in a pretty big way (and only a year after the war started), and everyone kind of collectively gasped because it was the first time an Asian power won over a European power.

Now that you've got some basic background, let's rewind a bit and unpack that last bit.

People were extremely racist at the time these photo cards were made. That's pretty evident on some of them, so it's best to address it now. These cards that I'm sorting through and those who wrote the stories and dialogue on them are of a specific time and place. Ignoring their racism doesn't make it go away, so I'll point some of it out along the way.

Here's an example on the back of one of the cards from this set:

This sounds an awful lot like a racist way to justify the Japanese winning the war (despite the fact that trench warfare is NOT what won this war). Since it ended in 1905, and these cards seem to be from shortly thereafter, I'd wager that's the case.

The cards themselves are of various scenes of the war, totaling 6 in all, but oddly, they're all photos of Japanese soldiers. None are of Russian soldiers. They are copyrighted by the Keystone View Company. Some dated 1904, others 1905.

One card has a slight lower-corner of the left picture missing.

All have text on the back (as seen in the large image above), though not all of it is as racist as that example.

Overall, it's a pretty interesting group of pictures, especially considering that many believe this "minor" war set the stage for Japan's entry into World War II.

The Stereoscope

A stereopticon is commonly confused for what is actually a stereoscope. The stereo-prefix means you're forming a three-dimensional image from two separate images. It should be obvious from the images below how this works, but if you've ever used a ViewMaster, it's basically the same idea. Only the Holmes Stereoscope (the type discussed here) dates from the 1850s.

My stereoscope, seen here from the top angle, with the handle on the bottom folded up to lie flat

The major difference I've found between my stereoscope and others online is the metal center-piece. Many seem to have a wooden piece (seen in the image below) that stretches straight out so that the image can be adjusted to the correct depth for the viewer.

An image of someone else's stereoscope I found online.
Photo source: http://antiquephotographics.com/stereoscopes-and-stereoviewers/

And from the "bottoms-up" view of my stereoscope (below), you can see that the straight-extension on my inherited Stereopticon is made from some sort of metal (it's light, so I'm going to guess aluminum) and that the painted wooden handle is intact.

View of my stereoscope from underneath, handle folded out

While the slider piece and the part that bridges forward from the nose are both wooden (as is the handle, though painted white), I would guess that this makes my stereoscope more resistant to wear-and-tear.

Another thing I noticed as I looked through pictures and compared them to my stereoscope was the common discoloration around the part of the viewer that rests on the face. I'm guessing they must have used some type of oxidizing metal there while the rest of the scope was constructed of something a bit more rust-resistant. Mine certainly hasn't been cleaned or treated with anything otherwise, so that's my best guess. Another theory is that there was possibly some type of cloth or fur lining that was attached there and has since fallen away.

Under-side

A stamp on the top side of this stereoscope indicates a manufacturer of sorts, though the internet doesn't offer much insight.

Hard to see, but it says: "KEVUKO" which may or may not be some relation to Keystone Viewing Company?

A closer shot

On the underside of the long extension arm is a stamp that says "PAT APR 5th 1904" and then below that (a bit tougher to read) is "PAT FEB 14th 1905."

So, that's the viewer I've inherited. The posts that follow will explore the photo cards that I've inherited along with it. There are quite a number of them, so I'm looking forward to digging in to find out what's there.