The combination of the daguerreotype (with its perfect rendering of detail) and the stereoscope (with its illusion of three dimensions and indeterminate scale) proved irresistible to the makers and consumers of erotic art. Stereoscopic daguerreotypes were often embellished with subtle hand-coloring to suggest natural skin tones and with touches of color on the gold necklaces, jeweled pendants, and glittering diadems that were the models’ frequent accoutrements. The viewer’s sense of voyeurism is enhanced still further by the way one looks at stereographs: privately, as if through the boudoir keyhole.
