As the first year of the Civil War Sesquicentennial draws to a close, historians, educators and Civil War buffs will have a unique opportunity to journey through The Civil War in 3-D on Friday, November 11 at the University of South Carolina Performing Arts Center from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Civil War photography expert, Bob Zeller, will present “Lincoln in 3D,” a complete stereoscopic slide show on the history of the presidency of Abraham Lincoln and the battlefield photography of America’s epic Civil War.
Wearing 3-D glasses, viewers will feel as if they literally stepped into the tableaus of many iconic photographs of the Civil War era, including more than a dozen portraits of Lincoln, photographs of both of his inaugurations, his visits to Antietam and Gettysburg, his summer home, the White House, the city of Washington, the hanging of the assassination conspirators, and many of the most famous images from the battlefields of the Civil War.
The 45-minute digital presentation will be shown in the original stereographic format. An estimated 70% of all Civil War documentary photography was shot as 3D “stereoviews”, the equivalent of today’s videos. Most of the 3D photographs of the war that are shown in books and in documentaries were originally meant to be seen that way by the famous Civil War photographers who shot them.
The show also includes three of the earliest photographs of St. Helena Island — vivid and depth-filled images taken in 1866 that form the very foundation of the Penn Center’s rich and unique photographic archive of its long history. The Center for Civil War photography has consulted with the Penn Center on the significance and history of their collection of stereographs.
Bob Zeller, who narrates the show live, is co-founder and president of the non-profit Center for Civil War Photography (www.civilwarphotography.org) and is one of the leading collectors of original Civil War photography.
The panel presentation will also include Dr. Stephen Wise, historian and Director of the Parris Island Museum, who will present on “The Battle of Port Royal,” and Dr. Larry Rowland, distinguished professor at USCB, who will speak about his new book, “The Civil War in South Carolina.” Re-enactor Donald Sweeper will begin with an opening monologue on Robert Smalls, Civil War hero and statesman.
The Penn Center will also present a living history program by the 54th Massachusetts Regiment Re-enactors on Saturday, November 12 at the Heritage Days Celebration, beginning at 11 a.m.
For reservations or tickets, please call the Penn Center at (843) 838-2432 or visit their website at www.penncenter.com. This event is sponsored by the Penn Center, the University of South Carolina/Beaufort and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute of Beaufort. Tickets are $15 for adults.
