STEREOPTICON PREPARATIONS OF WOOD by Romeyn B. Hough, Lowellville, New York.
For Magic Lantern Projection
At the time this webpage was posted, only a small collection of Hough’s real-wood stereopticon slides was web searchable. It is a group of four slides at the University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections Unit as part of the A.H. Reginald Buller family holdings. A “deep search” by AI turned up nothing on the internet. The parameters, reasoning, and results of Grok’s AIx investigation can be found here, should anyone be interested in continuing the quest. A single image of a stereopticon slide can be found on the internet. It is unique in that the printed title of the mount spells Stereopticon as “Stereoptican.” That suggests it is one of Hough’s earlier slides, as the correct spelling is present on all others.
Where Are the Others?
Due to the rarity of Romeyn Hough’s real-wood lantern slides in the digital realm, this page provides the only online access to these items. All thirty one slides in possession have been scanned and uploaded for reference and inspection. The specimens are presented in two formats: one using reflected light, which shows the wood as it appears held in hand, and the other by transmitted light, as when projected on a screen, for which it was intended.
Stereopticon slides were created for sharing information with audiences, most often in classrooms and educational settings. Yet to be catalogued collections of Romeyn’s real-wood lantern slides are likely stored in the archives of educational institutions, particularly those specializing in forestry and botany, inventories yet to be digitized.
This page will be updated with information on other collections of Romeyn Hough’s Stereopticon real-wood presentations as they become available online or are communicated to this site. Additionally, private collectors who possess Hough’s stereopticon slides are encouraged to share their inventories, where they can be posted in searchable formats.
Thirty Stereopticon Slides For Romeyn B. Hough’s American Woods.
Clickable Index
Abes magnifica Michx. (California Red Fir)
Aralia spinosa L. (Hercules Club)
Betula lutea Michx. (Yellow Birch)
Carpinus caroliniana Walt (Hornbeam)
Cercidium torreyanum Sarg. (Palo Verde)
Chilopsis saligna D Don (Desert Willow)
Citrus aurentium L. (Orange)
Citrus limonum L. (Orange)
Cornus florida L. (Flowering Dogwood)
Crataegus coccinea L. (Scarlet Thorn)
Cupressus goveniana Gord. (Northwest Coast Cyprus)
Gleditschia monosperma Walt. (Water Locust)
Juglans cinerea L. (Butternut)
Larix americana Michx. (Tamarack)
Liquidamber styraciflua L. (Sweet Gum Blister)
Magnolia glauca L. (Sweet Bay)
Melia azederach L. (China Berry)
Negundo aceroides Moengh (Box Elder)
Persea carolinensis Nees far. palustris (Red Bay)
Pinus contorta Dougl (California Scrub Pine)
Ptela trifoliata L. (Hop Tree)
Quercus densiflora Hock & Arn (Tan Bark Oak)
Rhamnus purshiana DC (Sacred Bark Buckthorn)
Rhododendron californicum Hook. (California Rose Bay).
Salix amygdaloides Anders (Beach Willow)
Sambuca glauca Nutt (California Elder)
Thuja occidentalis L. (Arbor vitae)
Tsuga patoniana Engle (Western Alpine Hemlock)
Ulmus americana L. (White Elm)
Ulmus fulva Michx. (Slippery Elm)
Vibernum lentago L. (Nannyberry)
- University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections Reginald Buller fonds. Accession A2014-120 A.H. (Holding: 4 Stereopticons titled Preparations of woods). https://umlarchives.lib.umanitoba.ca/downloads/h-reginald-buller-fonds.pdf Accessed 06/07/2025
2. Stereoptican image accessible here: http://www.codex99.com/design/the-american-woods.html.
Fond – the entire body of records of an organization, family, or individual that have been created and accumulated as the result of an organic process.