Choir Stereograph

A comical stereograph from 1899 shows someone singing badly with their church choir ... while they make faces and hold their ears! There weren't many funny Christian 3D stereo view cards made, but there are a few. These provided entertainment long before radio, television, and the internet. I am currently building an entire online archives of my 19th century Christian based stereograph collection. God Bless You -- Today and Every Day!

The Lord's Prayer Cross

The Lord's Prayer Cross, circa 1859: These were very popular in the 19th century. People would stand in long lines and wait to read them at scientific expositions. They were invented by René Dagron, a french photographer, after he viewed the microphotographs of John Benjamin Dancer. This cross contains a very small microscopic picture of the Lord's Prayer. It is attached to a cylindrical lens which is embedded in the cross and enlarges the image. Biblical scripture microphotography eventually led to microfilm; which then led to micro photo lithography; which led to today's computer chips, smart phones, and space programs. My Wonders of the Bible collection may very well be the largest holding of micro- and nano typographic Biblical scripture in the world today. God Bless You … Today and Every Day! AND … remember to love others, just as Jesus Christ loves YOU!

Shroud of Turin 1898 Commemorative Cloth

This is a souvenir of the solemn exposition of the Holy Shroud, Turin Italy, May 1898. Only a very limited number of commemoratives were issued (some say only 100 pieces), and each piece was touched to the Shroud of Turin with the approval of the ecclesiastical authority. It is also considered historically important because it is the last iconographic depiction of the Shroud before the famous first photographs were taken by Secondo Pia. The center piece shows what the image in the Shroud looked like when viewing it with the unaided eye. There are people that believe the Shroud is the burial cloth of Jesus Christ … and there are people that do not. Regardless, the Shroud of Turin is the most scientifically studied ancient artifact in world history. May God Bless You Today … and Every Day!

(above) close-up detail of the 1898 Shroud of Turin Commemorative Cloth. One has to be viewing the cloth at a certain angle in order for the image in the cloth to become visible. It has been stated that the actual Shroud of Turin relies on viewer geometry as well for the best image.

(above) close-up detail of the illustrated depiction of the Shroud Image. This may be the closest that one can come to actually seeing the Shroud Image without actually being at an exhibition.

(above) a photographic negative reversal of the image (black and white).

Noah's Sacrifice

Genesis 8:20 "And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar." Here we have a 19th century engraving of a painting entitled "Noah's Sacrifice". The painting was by Nicolas Poussin (1594- 1665), and the engraving (shown) by William Henry Egleton (1833-1862). Engravings are a great and affordable way to collecting famous paintings. I also happen to have this painting as a 19th century microphotograph. It is so small, that it cannot be seen with the unaided human eye. It must be placed under a microscope to see it. It is truly one of the Wonders of the Bible. God Bless You -- Today and Every Day! AND… Remember to love one another, just as Jesus loves YOU...