Árbók Hins íslenzka fornleifafélags - 01.01.1994, Qupperneq 82

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ÁRBÓK FORNLEIFAFÉLAGSINS
tographs in the Reykjavík city museum and 60% of those in the Municipal museum in
Akureyri, were taken by him. Magnús was stationed in Reykjavík but travelled widely
around Iceland specially for the purpose of taking photographs of scenery and places of
interest. The 540 stereoscopic glass plate negatives by him which have been preserved indi-
cate the variety that his customers could choose from.
Carl Ólafsson, who was also a photographer in Reykjavík, advertised stereoscope pho-
tographs in 1906. Later he opened a photographic studio in Hafnarfjörður and most of his
stereoscopic photographs seem to date from his period there from 1908-10.
Bárður Sigurðsson holds a special place amongst Icelandic photographers. He was a car-
penter and farmer in Mývatnssveit in Northern Iceland and had photography as a side line.
What makes him special is his choice of subject matter. It would seem that his postition as
one of the locals brought him closer to the people and their daily life.
Icelandic photographers seem to have stopped taking stereoscopic photographs after
1910-15.
V.
The amateur photographer who has left the largest collection of stereoscopic negatives in
the National Museum is Sigurður Tómasson, who was a watchmaker in Reykjavík. Sigurður
began taking photographs in 1915.
Most of his photographs are stereoscopic. They were taken during the period from 1925
to 1968. A large part of the collection is in colour, including photographs taken at the l,000th
anniversary celebrations of the Alþing (parliament) in 1930 and the founding of the Icelandic
Republic in 1944.
As far as is known Sigurður was the last photographer to take stereoscopic photographs
in Iceland.