Books#8 - A Village Lost And Found by Brian May & Elena Vidal

As photography became more popular during the 19th century, so too did the development of what we today call 3D photographs. Back then, they were known simply as stereo pictures.

One exponent of that art was Thomas Richard (T.R.) Williams, who in the 1850's took a whole series of stereo photographs of one village. These were published as a series of cards, each card bearing two (almost) identical pictures which when viewed in a certain way, or more easily using a simple piece of equipment, brought the pictures together as a single 3D image.

A certain Brian May (yes that is the Queen guitarist) became passionate about these images as a child and has spent a lot of time trying to obtain a full set of these cards. As the name of the village was never disclosed by Williams, it also became something of an obsession for May to discover the location.

Through publishing a picture of the village church on the internet he uncovered a secret that had been kept for 150 years. The village in question was Hinton Waldrist in Oxfordshire though when the photographs were taken, it was part of Berkshire, the county boundaries having since changed.


Working together with photohistorian Elena Vidal, Brian May produced a book which like the images, is a thing of beauty. 

Inside a sturdy cardboard slipcase is the book itself and another slim folder which houses the fold-away OWL stereoscope image viewer. 

Within the book, the authors present a detailed description and background to stereo photography, beautiful reproductions and details of each card in the series, a biography of T.R. Williams and details of how interested readers can take their own stereo pictures.



Having a passion for the English countryside and unspoiled villages, as well as a deep interest in all things historic, I find this book absolutely fascinating and working my way through the pages is a little like taking a step back in time and strolling through a typical English village seeing it as my great great grandparents might have. 

The text that accompanies the pictures enhances the experience by highlighting and explaining details one might otherwise miss. For example, as the original photographs were taken using only one camera which after the exposure of the first frame was then moved a few inches to one side for the second frame, the time delay meant that all was not always quite the same in the second photo. Someone in the shot might move, or a gust of wind might cause movement in an item of clothing. Such occurrences make for some interesting features in some of the photographs. They are all part of the fun and enjoyment of this book and I recommend it very highly.


So highly do I regard this book, that having recently become aware of another similar book co-written by Brian May, I have placed my order. The subject of this latest book is Les Diableries, a rare and sensational series of visionary dioramas set in Hell. There will be more of that in these pages in due course I am sure.