Published by The London Stereoscopic Company, 28th October 2019
THE COMPLETE EDITION OF THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED
DEVILISH STEREOSCOPIC MASTERPIECE
“It has been a labour of love for us all, and has taken us to places we never dreamed of. We hope, in these pages, to share this voyage of discovery with the world.”
Brian May
A GOTHIC VICTORIAN UNDERWORLD OF TEMPTATION, SEDUCTION AND
DEVILMENT BROUGHT ALIVE IN STEREO (3-D)
“Colourful and infernally detailed three-dimensional images that provide fascinating insight into the imagination of the past…The black-clad volume is alive with tableaux that range from the grotesque to the ghoulish, from the cruelly satirical to the plainly in-sane. Every picture tells several stories.”
Daily Telegraph
An Englishman (Brian May), a Frenchman (Denis Pellerin) and an American (Paula Fleming) were united by a rare passion for collecting Victorian cards known as Diableries (translates as “Devilments”) and in their quest to re-solve the many mysteries of the satanic imagery they compiled the first Diableries book, published to critical acclaim in 2013. Between the three of them they had located and reproduced 180 of the known 182 Diableries.
Six years later, through sheer persistence and a worldwide search the trio made the thrilling discovery of the two remaining stereo cards and shall un-veil the fantastic imagery and the story behind them for the first time in a lavish new edition of Diableries.
WHAT IS A DIABLERIE?
A Diablerie is a unique stereo card with demonic scenes of the underworld, designed for stereoscopic viewers in Paris in the mid 19th century. A stereo card is a 3-D view printed on paper – they were first sold to the public in England and France around 1853, becoming hugely popular throughout the mid to late 1850s.
Between them Brian, Denis and Paula have now discovered all 182 of the Diableries cards in existence and have brought them to the 21st century to be viewed through a modern day stereoscope, designed by Brian May, that he named an OWL.
The three authors present the world with their extraordinary full set of Diablerie stereo cards (originally published from the 1860s to the 1890s) which they have collected and studied over the years. By looking through the stereoscope, supplied with the book, you will be transported to an underworld of devils, satyrs and skeletons, rich in imagery and storytelling. The three authors explore the magic of stereo photography and the story behind the image on each card is interpreted. Never before had these se-crest been revealed – for instance, clues to the conflicts in France in a per i-od of great unrest, suffering, shame and suppression – a period which, even in French schools, is seldom part of the curriculum. The Diableries are impudent, funny, sad, riotously inventive, satirical and dangerously seditious. Their wickedness awaits you in time for Halloween!
BRIAN MAY’S OWL: Brian has created the definitive high-quality modern-day stereoscope; reminiscent of an Owl, he named it just that. Every book the LSC publishes comes with an Owl, and the illustrations in the book, produced by the highest resolution printing technology available will, through this device, delight you all just as they did in Victorian times.
To keep up to date on all things devilish in the lead up to Halloween
– Visit: www.diableries.co.uk | Follow: @DiableriesTheBook on Instagram
– Pre-order
