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The View-Master is a device for viewing seven 3-D images (also known as stereo images) on a paper disk. Although it is now considered a children's toy, it was not originally marketed as such.
History
The View-Master system was invented by William Gruber, an organ maker and avid photographer who lived in Portland, Oregon. He had the idea of updating the old-fashioned stereoscope by using the new Kodachrome color film that had recently become available. While a View-Master reel holds 14 film slides, there are really only seven stereoscopic images; two film slides are viewed simultaneously - one for each eye - thus simulating binocular depth perception.
A chance meeting with Harold Graves, the president of Sawyer's, Inc. (a company that specialized in picture postcards) got the idea off the ground and quickly took over the postcard business at Sawyer's.
View-Master was first introduced at the New York World's Fair of 1939. It was intended as an alternative to the scenic postcard, and was originally sold at photography shops, stationery stores and scenic attraction gift shops. The main subjects of View-Master reels were Carlsbad Caverns and the Grand Canyon.
In 1951 Sawyer's purchased Tru-Vue, the main competitor of View-Master. In addition to eliminating their main rival, the takeover also gave Sawyer's Tru-Vue's licensing rights to Walt Disney Studios. Sawyer's capitalized on the opportunity and produced numerous reels featuring Disney characters and the newly opened Disneyland.
In 1966 Sawyer's was acquired by the General Aniline & Film (GAF) Corporation, and became a wholly owned subsidiary. Under GAF's ownership View-Master reels started to feature fewer scenic and more child-friendly subjects, such as toys and cartoons.
GAF sold View-Master to a group headed by Arnold Thaler in 1981, and the company was rebranded as View-Master International Group (VMI). This name lasted for just three years. In 1984, VMI acquired the Ideal Toy Company and became the View-Master Ideal Group. The View-Master Ideal Group was purchased by Tyco Toys in 1989.
Tyco Toys merged with Mattel in March 1997. Since then, View-Master has been marketed as a Fisher-Price product.
Miscellaneous
The View-Master was originally constructed from bakelite, but the material of choice since 1959 has been a thermoplastic.
Over the years 3-D reels have been produced for Disneyland, many TV shows, movies (such as E.T. and Jurassic Park) and even for the US military (for airplane/ship identification and range estimation).
View-Master is now part of the National Toy Hall of Fame.
The television show Wonderfalls used the View-Master as a thematic emblem throughout the series.
The comic book character The Tick used a View-Master as though it could alert him of ongoing crimes.
External links
- Official View-Master Site at Fisher-Price
- Unofficial View-Master Reference Resource Reference Website
- View-Master Resource
- View-Master Introduction
- The View-Master Ultimate Reel List
- View-Master Reverse Reel Index
Photographic equipment | Toys | National Toy Hall of Fame | 1939 introductions | Mattel
"View-Master"