Appraising Stereoviews

Tens of thousands of stereoviews were made at their peak of popularity between 1860 and 1920. As with any collectible, their value is determined by many things, but one thing more than any other: The price someone is willing to pay. An expert appraiser might think a stereoview is worth only $20, but if it has a picture of a Chicago Cubs baseball game, a collector of Cubs memorabilia might be willing to pay $40. Hence, it's value is $40, and ther is no way an appraiser can predict this. Of course it is impossible to know what the market will determine as the value for a stereocard, but there are some guidelines.

In 1991 John Waldsmith wrote an excellent book: Stereoviews, An Illustrated History and Price Guide. It was revised in 2001 and the second edition came out in 2002. It lists hundreds of stereoviews and Waldsmith's estimation of their value. It sells for $15.72 on Amazon.com. Click here.

I think the best guide for stereoview prices is to check the prices realized at auction on eBay. There is a lively market for stereoviews on eBay, and you can often find the price realized for a specific card by checking the results of closed auctions. Keep in mind that an open auction can give you NO idea of the value until the sale is over since most of the bidding often takes place in the last hour. A recent search on the keyword "stereoview" on eBay found 1479 items for sale. By clicking on "Advanced Search" and then "Completed listings only" I found 4207 sales in the past 30 days. Prices ranged from $1 to more than $300. To search completed listings, you must be an eBay member. This is free and easy to do.

Other factors can significantly effect the value of an historic stereocard:

Condition. Is it scratched or worn, or just like new.

Subject matter. Does it have the photo of a famous person? Landmarks? Buildings that have been torn down? Does it have historic importance?

Artist. Some photographers like William Henry Jackson are more collectible than others.

Scarcity. Some printers, like Keystone, printed tens of thousands of copies, while others may have published only a few hundred.

Artistic quality. Is it beautiful? Moving? Profound?

Production method. How was it made? Photographic prints are usually worth more than lithographs.

Verso. Some cards have text on the back that can be quite interesting.