Viewmaster

The View-Master is a device for viewing seven 3-D images (also known as stereo images) on a paper reel. Although it is now considered a children's toy, it was not originally marketed as such. more...

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.

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