J Edward Oliver goes 3D

On many parts of this site you can find 3D pages, for example, on the Phil Stamp page and on here. J Edward Oliver has always been a 3D fan, as he explains:

3D has been one of my greatest passions ever since I was at primary school and, over the years, I've devised such technical marvels as ComicScope, Comicorama, Superama, Pixo... and even one process I called 2D! One of my greatest triumphs, however, was StereoGraphic 3D. I came up with the idea completely by chance when messing about with a mirror. I was very proud of the result, and used it in Disc (DiscScope) and, with photographs, in Buster (BusterVision). Imagine my surprise, therefore, when I found the technique used in an American monster magazine... and subsequently read about the principle in a scientific text book! Since then, I've acquired the entire range of Dorling Kindersley "Eyewitness" 3D books (a free mirror with every copy!). Maybe the publisher of D K went to my school and read my comics. Mick Jagger certainly did. Which might account for a lot.

I dug deep into my archives and finally found an issue No.162 (No.2, Vol.14) of my home-made magazine, "Modern Male, Teenage Male and Puxim, incorporating Shock and Crazy" (yes, really!), dated December, 1960. I think the system should work on your monitor screen, providing:

• you can find a mirror of the appropriate size
• you don't die from radiation poisoning

Or you could always print it out. Shame I used to draw on lined exercise-book paper!

In case you can't make out the writing on the instructions panel above, it says:

VIEWING INSTRUCTIONS

• All you need to view is one mirror - preferably unframed - about 3" x 4"
• Open out the next page, holding the book sideways
• Hold it up in your left hand about 1ft 6ins away from your face
• Holding the mirror by its longest edges, place one narrow end against your face, reflecting surface to the right, just to the right of your nose and to the left of your right eye
• Hold the mirror at 90 degrees to the page, so that with your left eye you see the actual left-hand picture, whilst with your right eye you see the reflection of the right-hand picture
• Keeping the near end still, move the far end of the mirror gradually to the left until the picture you see on the far left appears to stand out in full 3D
• Make sure mirror is clean for good results

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