These are based on the uncompleted 1864 patent of Charles John Rowsell, they have a platform hinged to the base, at the front are two lenses for stereo use that are hinged to lie flat on the platform when not in use, a graphoscope lens hinges from underneath the platform to the viewing position. At the rear of the platform is a hinged photograph holder with a diffusing screen for transparencies. The whole folds flat when not in use.

The patent was not completed and therefore anyone was free to copy the design. George Hare made early examples for Rowsell and later sold this type of viewer under his own name.

A simpler arrangement than the Rowsell design was to include the stereo and graphoscope lenses in a single housing that, when not in use, could fold over the hinged platform. This very compact design was cheaper to produce and easier to use, it was popular from the 1890s.