An old photograph can sometimes catch your eye and leave you wondering how it came to be taken.
That was the case with this amateur 3D stereograph that I spotted recently on Ebay.
Closer inspection revealed that the driver and occupants of this shiny open-topped vehicle were certainly well wrapped up against the elements.
The vehicle number plate, ‘X 1419’, offered another clue.
In Britain at the turn of the 20th century, the first motor car registration system used a one or two letter prefix followed by up to four digits.
The prefix letter related to the local authority that had licensed the vehicle.
In the case of ‘X 1419’, the ‘X’ revealed that it was issued by Northumberland County Council.
Helpfully, a hand-written caption in a neat hand that had been added to the verso offered more clues as to the stereo’s backstory.
Dated ‘Feb. 12th, 1911’, the caption identified the driver as a ‘Miss Hamilton’ and the location as ‘Bolam Lake.’
Bolam Lake in Northumberland was created in 1816 by John Dobson, the leading Newcastle upon Tyne architect, and today remains a popular spot with visitors.
All this information led to a follow-up inquiry to the card seller as to whether more stereos from the same source were available.
The answer came back ‘yes’, so in coming weeks, Pressphotoman readers will be able to go on a scenic 3D car trip around the North of England during 1911.
Pressphotoman 
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