An
inaugural inductee into the American National Toy Hall of Fame in 1998, the
View-Master has proven to be a popular toy with each successive generation of
children and young teenagers. Introduced to the world at the 1939 New York
World’s Fair, the View-Master was a small handheld viewer, through which
stereoscopic 3-D photographs could be seen, via thin cardboard discs (known as
‘reels’) containing seven pairs of small colour photographs, which is inserted
into the viewer and rotated via a small lever at the side.
The
View-Master had its beginnings within the walls of the Oregon-based Sawyer’s
Services, Inc. (later shortened to just Sawyer’s), one of America’s largest
producers of scenic postcards during the 1920’s. When avid photographer William
Gruber hooked-up with Sawyer’s in 1938, he presented them with a special rig he
had built in order to view stereoscopic (3-D) images from frames of the
then-new Kodachrome 16mm colour film. After refining the viewer and dubbing it
the View-Master (a name Gruber hated, thinking it sounded too much like a
kitchen appliance), the initial viewers were made from Bakelite and sold at
photography stores and scenic attraction gift shops. Subjects for the early
reels included scenic attractions like the Carlsbard Caverns in New Mexico and
the Grand Canyon.
The
novelty of the View-Master quickly saw its popularity, as well as the profits
of Sawyer’s, skyrocket. During the Second World War, the American military used
View-Masters as a valuable tool for training their personnel in depth
perception, purchasing over 100,000 viewers and nearly six million reels
between 1942 and 1945. When Sawyer’s absorbed True-Vue, View-Master’s main
rival, in 1951, it not only took care of the competition, but enabled Sawyer to
take advantage of True-Vue’s lucrative licensing agreement with the Walt Disney
Studios, producing popular reels of Disney characters, as well as reels
depicting the various rides and attractions at Disneyland after the theme park
opened in 1955.
In 1966,
Sawyer’s was taken over by General Aniline & Film (GAF) and the
View-Master, now more streamlined and manufactured in plastic rather than
Bakelite, became a much more youth-oriented product. While scenic and
travelogue reels were still being produced, the focus began to shift more
towards movies, television shows, cartoons and occasionally music groups. Many
of these post-GAF reels are amongst the most popular and sought after with
collectors – some of the View-Master TV show sets produced during this period
include Star Trek, Planet of the Apes, The Brady Bunch, Hawaii Five-O, Laugh-In,
Batman, The Man from U.N.C.L.E and many more.
1970 saw
the introduction of the Talking View-Master, a larger and heavier model which
played special reels that had a clear plastic sound disc attached to them.
While they were more expensive and had electronics in them that tended to break
down after time, and the sound was often tinny and hard to understand, the
Talking View-Master was a popular addition to the line, and remained in
production in various incarnations until 1997. Another variation was the
lighted View-Master, introduced in 1958, which used batteries and a built-in
light globe to illuminate the reels, rather than have to hold the viewer up to
a window or other external light source.
While
the majority of View-Master reels were manufactured in America and Belgium, a
number were also produced in countries like France, Austria, India and
Australia (there were several Australia specific sets produced in 1973,
covering cities like Alice Springs, Cairns, Adelaide and Melbourne).
In terms
of collectability, most View-Master viewers and reels can be found quite easily
and inexpensively, such was the huge numbers they were produced in. There are
certainly exceptions, though. Early viewers and reels will always command good
prices if they are in great condition, and of course some of the reels for
popular or cult movies and television shows remain desirable as they appeal to
a cross-section of collectors. Again, condition is always a main factor in the
value of the reels, since they were made of rather thin cardboard and could be
damaged or bent easily, and the film frames were susceptible to scratching. The
paper envelope packaging for the reels was also rather thin and easy to tear,
and the rear flaps often detached. Most reels also came with an illustrated
booklet that will often be missing or damaged. Naturally, packets that are
unopened and still in their cellophane wrapping are the most sought-after. Also popular with collectors are the special
gift sets that are occasionally produced to tie-in with general themes (like
superheroes, monsters and Disney) and specific movies/topics (such as the E.T., Michael Jackson’s Thriller, Hello Kitty and The Little Mermaid).
Advertising
and other promotional material can also appeal to the hardcore collector. This
includes store display signs, wholesale catalogues, demonstration reels given
out to retailers, and even incentive items, like the pair of gold-plated
View-Master cufflinks that were given out to company employees who had achieved
or exceeded their sales targets. Another very desirable item is the thin
plastic folding View-Master, which was produced to fit inside medical text
books in the early-1970s, and came with a number of specially made medical
reels, which helped students visualise diseases and parts of the human anatomy
with a depth not achievable on the printed page (many of these images required
a rather strong stomach to look at).
After 25
different models of viewer, thousands of titles and nearly 1.5 billion reels
produced over the decades, and even a feature film reportedly being developed
by DreamWorks (!), it’s safe to say the View-Master will be around and
entertaining kids – and adult collectors – for many years to come.
Happy
clicking!
Copyright John Harrison 2018
(Note: The above piece was originally written for Collectables Trader, an Australian magazine which I regularly contributed to. Unfortunately, the magazine ceased publishing before this final piece could be run).
