[Philip Lelyveld comment: this is a really good single webpage giving the history of 3D, with pictures.]

Whether you love them or walk out of a movie theater with a headache, Hollywood has been pushing 3D films on moviegoers for the last several years. In fact, in 2010 three of the four largest grossing films were in 3D. With that kind of money there’s no doubt that the 3D fad probably is here to stay. Further proof of this are TVs with 3D capability currently on the market. However, 3D is anything of a new technology, if you grew up in the 80′s you should be able to recall the many horror films that were in 3D. But what’s astonishing is that this technology has been around for well over a century.

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See the full history here: http://amog.com/tech/101395-timeline-3d-films/