Stereoscopic card of the ruined lobby and staircase at Kenilworth Castle by Francis Bedford (1815-94). The photograph shows the ruined building, largely covered by ivy, with a man wearing a top hat standing at the entrance. The man in the photograph is probably Bedford himself. In this instance, the camera would have been set up in advance, so Bedford could stand in front of the camera during the exposure. He may have been assisted by one of his sons, both of whom were photographers. Stereoscopic views were popular with the general public. The cards could be placed into a hand-held viewer which combined the two separate images into one three-dimensional image. Bedford produced them in large numbers. From the late 1850s, Bedford started making photographic expeditions to different parts of the country, including Wales, Devon, Wiltshire, Bristol, Exeter and Warwickshire. The resulting views were printed and sold in their thousands, leaving Bedford with a highly successful commercial business.