Wady Saboua - From the West, 1859.

EGYPT - SEPTEMBER 03: A stereoscopic photograph of two sphinxes in the desert at Wadi el Seboua, Egypt, taken in 1859 by Francis Frith (1822-1898). This image is one of a series of one hundred stereoscopic photographs taken by Frith for Negretti and Zambra, published in 1862 in a book entitled 'Egypt, Nubia and Ethiopia Illustrated'. Wadi el Seboua has a rock temple built by Ramesses II (1279-1213 BC) dedicated to the Egyptian god Amon. Francis Frith was a pioneer of travel photography. He was also one of photography's greatest entrepreneurs, founding a company that was to become the largest publisher of photographs in the world. Frith saw himself as a romantic adventurer in the mould of Byron. Between 1856 and 1860 he travelled and photographed extensively in Egypt and the Holy Land. His work was published in a variety of formats and editions and established his reputation as one of the finest travel photographers. But the venture that brought him great wealth and made him a household name was his comprehensive collection of photographs of British landscapes, towns and cities. His company, Frith and Co, founded in Reigate in 1859, sold images of every corner of Britain. In 1832, Sir Charles Wheatstone (1802-1875) first established the principles of stereoscopy. A stereograph is a pair of photographs which, when viewed through a stereoscope, give the appearance of three-dimensional depth. Stereoscopic photography became very popular in the 1850s and 1860s - particularly after it was exhibited at the Great Exhibition in 1851. (Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)