Unidentified Photographer

Chasseur Alpin

Stereoscopic Autochrome (half shown), approximately 1.75 x 4.2 inches, circa 1918

The large beret identifies this man as a French soldier of the Chasseurs Alpin (literally, Alpine Hunters.) Today, three battalions remain of the dozen infantry units that formed the Chasseurs in 1888. The Chasseurs train in cross-country skiing and mountain survival. The man in this photograph likely fought in World War I.

Special cameras with two lenses side-by-side are required to produce the twin images of a stereo photograph. When placed in a special viewer, stereoscopic photographs like this one appear in lifelike 3-D. Natural color adds to the illusion. Autochromes were made in several stereoscopic formats; this size, 45 x 107 mm, was introduced by the French camera maker Jules Richard in 1905 and was utilized by both amateurs and professionals into the 1930s.