The View-Master is a device for viewing seven 3-D images (also known as stereo images) on a paper disk. Stereogram may also refer to an integrated High fidelity system or Music centre. Although it is now considered a children's toy, it was not originally marketed as such.
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History
The View-Master system was invented by William Gruber, an organ maker and avid photographer who lived in Portland, Oregon. The organ (from Greek όργανον – organon "organ instrument tool" is a Keyboard instrument of one or more divisions each A photographer is a person who takes a Photograph using a Camera. Portland is a city located in the Northwestern United States, near the Confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers He had the idea of updating the old-fashioned stereoscope by using the new Kodachrome color film that had recently become available. Stereoscopy, stereoscopic imaging or 3-D (three-dimensional imaging is any technique capable of recording three-dimensional visual Kodachrome is the trademarked name of a brand of color reversal film sold by Eastman Kodak. 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. Stereoscopy, stereoscopic imaging or 3-D (three-dimensional imaging is any technique capable of recording three-dimensional visual Binocular vision is vision in which both Eyes are used together Depth perception is the visual ability to perceive the world in three Dimensions Although any animal capable of moving around its environment must be able to
When on vacation with his wife in 1938, Gruber met Harold Graves, the president of Sawyer's, Inc. Year 1938 ( MCMXXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. , a company specializing in picture postcards, and the two men struck up a conversation about Mr. A postcard or post card is a rectangular piece of thick Paper or thin cardboard intended for writing and mailing without an Envelope and Gruber’s invention that lasted well into the night. Shortly thereafter, Gruber and Graves formed a partnership in 1939 which led to the retail sales of View-Master viewers and reels. Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Within a very short time, the View-Master quickly took over the postcard business at Sawyer's.
Later that year, View-Master was first introduced at the New York World's Fair. The 1939-40 New York World's Fair, Flushing Meadows-Corona Park (also the location of the 1964-1965 New York World's Fair) was one of the largest It was intended as an alternative to the scenic postcard, and was originally sold at photography shops, stationery stores and scenic attraction gift shops. A postcard or post card is a rectangular piece of thick Paper or thin cardboard intended for writing and mailing without an Envelope and The main subjects of View-Master reels were Carlsbad Caverns and the Grand Canyon. Carlsbad Caverns National Park is a United States National Park located in the Guadalupe Mountains in southeastern New Mexico. The Grand Canyon In the 1940s, the U. The 1940s decade ran from 1940 to 1949 Events and trends The 1940s was a period between the radical 1930s and the conservative 1950s which also leads the period to be S. military recognized the potential for using View-Master products for personnel training, purchasing 100,000 viewers and nearly six million reels between 1942 and the end of World War II in 1945. Year 1942 ( MCMXLII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar
In 1951 Sawyer's purchased Tru-Vue, the main competitor of View-Master. Year 1951 ( MCMLI) was a Common year starting on Monday. Events of 1951 January 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 1952 Sawyer's began its View-Master Personal line, which included a 35mm camera for its users to make their own View-Master reels. Year 1952 ( MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Although at first highly successful, within ten years the line would be discontinued. Despite an untimely death, many of these ruggedly well-made cameras are still being used today. This line also spawned the Model 'D' viewer (available until the early seventies it was View-Master's highest quality viewer) and View-Master's only 3D projector.
The View-Master had originally been constructed from Kodak Tenite plastic and then bakelite, a hard, sturdy, somewhat heavy plastic. Bakelite (ˈbеɪkɨlaɪt is a material based on the thermosetting Phenol formaldehyde resin polyoxybenzylmethylenglycolanhydride developed in 1907–1909 by Beginning in 1959, the material of choice became the much lighter-weight thermoplastic. The year 1959 ( MCMLIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A thermoplastic is a Plastic that Melts to a liquid when heated and freezes to a Brittle, very Glassy state when cooled sufficiently
In 1966 Sawyer's was acquired by the General Aniline & Film (GAF) Corporation, and became a wholly owned subsidiary. Year 1966 ( MCMLXVI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. American IG is the name of a company, and it owes its genesis to a German business conglomerate, namely Interessens-Gemeinschaft Farbenindustrie AG or A subsidiary, in business matters is an entity that is controlled by a bigger and more powerful entity Under GAF's ownership View-Master reels started to feature fewer scenic and more child-friendly subjects, such as toys and cartoons. Several now-classic TV series were also featured on View-Master reels, such as Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, Star Trek, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Here's Lucy, and The Beverly Hillbillies. Here Comes The Judge redirects here for the 1968 song see Shorty Long. Star Trek is a Science fiction Television series created by Gene Roddenberry that aired from September 8, 1966 through The Man from UNCLE is an American television series that was broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1964, to January Here's Lucy is Lucille Ball 's third network television sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies is an American Television series about a Hillbilly family transplanted to Beverly Hills California after finding Actor Henry Fonda appeared in a series of TV commercials for the GAF View-Master. Henry Jaynes Fonda ( May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American Academy Award -winning Film and
In 1976, a red and white View-Master with a blue handle was released to commemorate the United States Bicentennial. Year 1976 ( MCMLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United States Bicentennial was celebrated on Sunday July 4, 1976, the 200th Anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence
GAF sold View-Master to a group headed by Arnold Thaler in 1981 for $24 million. Year 1981 ( MCMLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Six years later, a thriving View-Master International purchased Ideal Toy Company and became known as View-Master Ideal (VMI). Ideal Toy Company was founded as Ideal Novelty and Toy Company in New York in 1907 by Morris and Rose Michtom after they had invented the Teddy bear
In the mid-1980s, the toy eventually had a home video label, notable for producing Kidsongs. The 1980s was the decade spanning from January 1 1980 to December 31 1989. Kidsongs is a series of Music Videos for children that were first released on Home video produced by View-Master Video in the mid-1980s then KidVision
In August of 1989, the View-Master product line was sold for the third time to Tyco Toys, Inc. of Mt. Other names In Arabic, the month is called أغسطسص ʾUġusṭuṣ or آب ʾĀb; usage varies from place to place and Year 1989 ( MCMLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar) Tyco Toys is a division of the Mattel Toy company History Mantua Metal Products was a Woodbury Heights New Jersey, metalworks Laurel, New Jersey, upon its purchase of View-Master Ideal. New Jersey ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. The View-Master line remained part of Tyco until Tyco’s merger with Mattel, Inc. in 1997. Mattel Inc ( is the world's largest Toy importing company based on revenue Year 1997 ( MCMXCVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar
Shortly after the merger with Mattel, Inc. , the View-Master category shifted to Mattel subsidiary Fisher-Price in East Aurora, New York. Fisher-Price is a company that produces toys for infants and children headquartered in East Aurora New York. New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous
View-Master is named[1] as part of the National Toy Hall of Fame of the USA. The National Toy Hall of Fame is an American hall of fame that recognizes the contributions of Toys and Games that have sustained their popularity for many The United States of America —commonly referred to as the
Notable uses
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). This article is about the 1982 film For the term "ET" which redirects here see ET. Jurassic Park is a 1993 Science fiction film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on the novel of the same name by Michael
David L. Bassett, an expert on anatomy and dissection, collaborated with Gruber to create a 25-volume atlas of human antomy using the View-Master system. [2]
The television show Wonderfalls, used the View-Master as a thematic emblem throughout the short-lived series. A television program (US television programme (UK or television show (U
In an episode of Courage the Cowardly Dog, a View-Master was used to view the past of a beaver's life. Courage the Cowardly Dog is an Academy Award -nominated American Animated television series, created by John R
The comic book character The Tick used a View-Master as though it could alert him of ongoing crimes. The Tick is a Fictional character, an absurdist spoof of Comic book Superheroes Created by cartoonist Ben Edlund, the character
The 2006 film ATL features a scene of a teenage girl using a View-Master. ATL is a 2006 American comedy - drama film, and the feature film directorial debut of music video director Chris Robinson This scene is preceded by a computer generated image of a reel being moved by the same girl.
Among the new View-Master products are a “Discovery Channel View-Master,” the new “Virtual Viewer,” the “Discovery Channel View-Master Projector and Telescope,” and “View-Master 3-D Pocket Viewer,” which feature images of popular performers in concert and backstage. Discovery Channel is an American Satellite and Cable TV channel (also delivered via IPTV, Terrestrial television and Discovery Channel is an American Satellite and Cable TV channel (also delivered via IPTV, Terrestrial television and
References
External links
- Official View-Master Site at Fisher-Price
- 3-D Review Online Magazine 3-D products and services are reviewed monthly at www. 3-Dreview. com
- Stereo Viewer Reference 20th Century Stereo Viewers
- View-Master Resource
- View-Master Introduction
- The View-Master Ultimate Reel List
- View-Master Reverse Reel Index
- Meopta reels
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