I've recently found a stereo view card of the Confederate steamer "David," a steam-driven cigar-shaped vessel with a very low profile in the water. It was developed in Charleston, SC and during the Civil War reportedly more than ten such crafts were built. Description of image:

TITLE: "REBEL CIGAR STEAMER" by Bell & Bros, Washington, D.C.

STEREO VIEW CARD Location: Washington Navy Yard, District of Columbia

IMAGE: View on board ships moored off the yard's western waterfront in 1865-66. Ships in the immediate foreground are monitors. The odd "cigar-shaped" steamer tied up to them appears to be the former Confederate "enlarged David" built at Charleston, South Carolina, late in the Civil War. The Navy Yard's western shiphouse is visible in the right background, with USS Resaca fitting out at pierside.
Photo mounted on a stereograph card.

How rare is this stereo view card?

Rob Swinson
reswinson@cox.net