Stereoscopic view of ruined housing in Polla, Italy after the great Neapolitan earthquake

Stereoscopic view of ruined housing in Polla, Italy. The landscape studies show damage to buildings, with mountains in the distance. Albumen prints, mounted on gold trimmed card. From a collection of photographs and drawings of the after-effects of the earthquake of 1857 in the region of Naples, Italy, collected by Robert Mallet (FRS 1854) and photographed by Alphonse Bernoud and "Grellier" [possibly J. Grillet]. An early example of photo-documentation or journalism capturing the aftermath of a natural disaster. Mallet's description of the earthquake, including photographs, was printed in 'Great Neopolitan Earthquake of 1857: The first principles of observational seismology as developed in the report to the Royal Society...' 2 vols., (London, Chapman and Hall, 1862).