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The Great War in Stereoviews

Feldstereo-Verlag (HEGI)

Feldstereo-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main, produced multiple sets of small-format (1¾" x 4¼") paper stereoviews, probably during the war. The photos were packaged with a folding cardboard viewer in wood-grained cardboard sleeves. The set is not rare, but is uncommon in the USA. Little information is available on this manufacturer. There is an indication that the company was owned by one Hermann Gilbert. Perhaps the acronym HEGI associated with Feldstereo-Verlag is formed from the letters of his first and last name.

The HEGI Feldstereo sets do not show any action. Most images were taken well behind the front lines in the Somme, Champagne, and Meuse areas and portray ruins, former enemy positions, and implements of war. Despite this flaw, the aviation photos are interesting. The consecutive run below shows the ascent of a tethered balloon.

1045 Deutscher Fesselballon

German Observation Balloon

1046 Aufstieg eines deutschen Fesselballon

Ascent of a German Observation Balloon

1047 Aufstieg eines deutschen Fesselballons

Ascent of a German Observation Balloon

1048 Aufstieg eines deutschen Fesselballons

Ascent of a German Observation Balloon

Two different sets have been seen, and there may have been up to five. One set, labeled "Serie A" contained 48 views. Of the three copies of this set reported, one included 47 different images plus a duplicate. All three sets have minor variations with about 45 cards in common. Another set labeled "Serie B" had only 25 views, but it may have been incomplete. Series A and B both show a 1915-vintage monoplane Fokker and the German ace Capt. Boelcke, who was shot down in 1916, suggesting those sets date from the early part of the war.

2101 Hauptmann Boelcke beim Start

(Captain Boelcke at Takeoff)

Series C, D, and E also have been reported. Feldstereo images have not been seen in sets of other manufacturers.

Serie ATitle List    Serie B Title List    Images

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