Stereographs became a very popular entertainment medium from the 1850s to the 1930s, though a few companies continued to produce stereographic images until the 1970s. Invented in England in 1854 by the London Stereoscopic Company, the novelty and attraction of stereograph formats spread across Europe and the United States. Many different photographic processes were used to produce stereographs, including daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, wet plate glass... positives, salt paper prints, albumen prints, and gelatin prints. Stereographs were formed of two images placed side by side and mounted on cardboard. They were commonly produced with cameras that had two lenses side by side. Stereographic cards were produced in the millions by photographers all over the world.

Stereographs provided a popular entertainment medium predating television and film. Keystone and Underwood produced stereographic sets packaged in box sets with spines that resembled classic book bindings, accompanied by descriptive guide books written by recognized scholars, copyrighted maps depicting the exact location of the photograph, and the arrangement of sets by subject intended for primary and secondary school instruction. Stereographic views cover a diverse range of subjects and include topographic views, local history, events, industries and trade, urban and country life, portraits of famous people, and the production of box sets of World War I and World War II. The box sets ranged in size from 50 to 200 images per box, and were viewed through a stereoscope, which produced a unique three-dimensional (3-D) effect

The collection represented here documents the life and culture of the people of Panama from the first decade of the 20th century in rural and urban areas shortly following Panama's independence from Columbia in 1903. The set contains photographs of citizens on the water ways, rural scenes in villages, the daily lives and work of the indigenous people, urban scenes featuring modern paved streets, political leaders, and scenic views of the countryside. The collection also portrays the early stages of the construction of the Panama Canal which began in 1904 and was completed in 1914, led by the United States Corps of Engineers. The cards are contained in an Underwood Company box.