Keita Wangari is a tech founder and former Google product researcher who spends her off-hours collecting something most people don't know exists: 3D viewers and stereoscopes dating back to the 1800s. In this episode, Keita traces her collection back to a $2 thrift-store find inspired by The Devil in the White City, explains the actual science of stereoscopy, and walks through the surprising 150-year history of 3D viewing devices — from Holmes-style stereoscopes to View-Master's 1939 debut. She also gets into something far heavier: how Black people were almost entirely erased from 3D photography's history, except in derogatory depictions, and her ongoing mission to find and preserve non-derogatory images of Black life and history. Along the way, she talks about being one of the only Black collectors in a mostly white hobby space, what it means to be a "caretaker" rather than a hoarder, and the legacy plan she's already written for her collection — including a museum earmarked for African-American history.

Topics Covered:
• What 3D viewers and stereoscopes actually are, and the real science (stereoscopy) behind how two slightly different images create depth in the brain
• How a thrifted 1933 "Century of Progress" World's Fair viewer, sparked by reading The Devil in the White City, launched Keita's collection
• The surprising 150-year history of 3D viewing devices — from 1880s Holmes-style stereoscopes to the True View company to View-Master's 1939 debut at the New York World's Fair
• Why stereoscopy is still functioning technology today — used in lunar missions and modern surgery — even though the viewing devices themselves feel delightfully analog
• The near-total absence of Black people in 3D photography and stereo cards from the 1800s through the 1950s, and the handful of derogatory exceptions that did exist
• Keita's mission to find and preserve non-derogatory 3D images connected to Black history, including Howard University's opening, Black soldiers, a Tuskegee classroom, and a candid photo of Hank Aaron
• What it's like being one of very few Black collectors in a predominantly white collecting community
• Why Keita sees herself as a caretaker rather than a hoarder — researching, organizing, and documenting every piece instead of just accumulating them
• The legacy plan already built into her will, specific pieces going to her husband and collector friends, with the rest earmarked for a museum focused on African-American history
• Her advice for anyone wanting to start collecting: find one object that sparks curiosity, research it, then deliberately keep your focus narrow

Book Mentioned:
• "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson: https://amzn.to/44ZXBw1

Connect with Keita Wangari:
Vintage Viewers website: https://vintageviewers.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/3dcollector

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