View-Masters are a particular type of stereoscopes, and it is the trademark name of a special kind of stereoscope. The View-Master reels are extremely popular. The reels are thin cardboard disks that contain small photographs on film in the form of seven stereoscopic 3-D pairs. The View-Master was introduced in 1939 after Kodachrome made small photographic images. The View Master viewer mostly included children; however, they were made for all ages. These gadgets were introduced at the New York fair in 1939 and again in 1940 at the Golden Gate Exposition in San Francisco.
How does it work?
The principle that makes the View Master viewer so compelling lies with our vision. Stereotypic has been using this technology since the 19th century. It takes an optical depth of the brain where a single image is seen from two different angles; our brains combine them into a single perception.
History
View-Masters were invented by William Gruber, a German immigrant who invented a portable stereo photography viewer that created a 3-D effect. Since the lenses were hard to source, Gruber sought help from Sawyer, the producer of the device, and advised him to import the lenses from a German optical firm. However, it did not go the way it was planned due to World War.
The production of View-Master had almost stopped due to World War II. It would have gone into oblivion, but due to the onset of the war, a large number of airplanes, ship identification, and range estimation reels were required by the army. Thousands of reels from the View-Master were used, and there was a large spread of these devices post-1940. Up to that point, View-Master Viewer contained only scenic photographs, but in the late 1940s, the company included a series of children’s fairy tales in them. These kid-friendly models were identified by the prefix “FT.”
Sawyer did not remain the parent company for long as they were acquired by General Aniline in 1966 and Tyco in 1989. Gruber, however, had other plans. He moved to Portland and began working at the University of Washington, and his project “A Stereoscopic Atlas of the Human Anatomy” became vital in the medical community as the images he captured are still considered to be one of the finest dissection projects. View-Master is currently known as the best-licensed entertainment of the 1970s.
View-Master and Disney
Sawyer’s purchased Tru-Vue, which was their main competition in the market. This acquisition bought them a transferable license to Walt Disney’s characters, and they could now use Disney characters in their devices. They had access to popular characters of that time, like Bambi and Davy Crockett. You have to remember that it was a time of no television, so View-Master became a huge deal in the market. Children now had access to their favorite characters in Kodachrome color. The adventures of Donald Duck was their most successful Disney feature, but “the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II” sold 1.5 million reels. They also bought the rights to Mickey Mouse, Casper, and Batman in the late 1980s; however, there were already color televisions flooding in the market, so they did not work.
Pricing And Collection
Given that the view-master is now considered an antique and for it to be sold in the market, the reels need to be in good condition, free of mold and brown spots. Due to paper blisters (formed due to heat or moisture), the reels are valued at one-fourth of the mint reels. So if you want to sell, make sure no part is broken, or else the price drops. Generally, the good reels go for a really good price.
The View Master viewer is currently generating from the trend of movies and science fiction shows using them. There has been an increase in their demand, and one such example is Dracula, whose demand has soared in the past few years.
21st Century Update
A 21st-century update of the famous stereoscopic slide reel gadget of the 1970s made a comeback when Google and Mattel decided to revamp it by turning it into a Virtual Reality headset that was aimed for toddlers. This virtual reality headset or View Master viewer 2.0 will be fitted with a smartphone to play videos and provide an interactive experience for the children. The main goal behind this collaboration was to create an imaginative and interactive learning environment. The tactic used by them is the same as that of the original View-Master, an educational bait.
This updated version also hits the nostalgia part of the millennials, and it is readily available and reasonably priced. These are the perfect collectibles. Tyco produced View-Masters till 1997 from 1989 when the company merged with Mattel. The View-Master is produced by Fisher-price, which is a Matter owned company. Not only that, but Mattel is also making a live-action film on View-Masters to increase awareness and sales.
View-Masters and Movies
Mattel is bringing the evergreen toy to the mainstream once again by making a feature film in collaboration with MGM pictures. However, this is not the first time that a movie is being made on the device. In 2009 DreamWorks tried to make a movie, and big names like Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci were involved in this movie, but unfortunately, it did not take off. Mattel is trying to revive sales by making a movie that features its product. They want to go to Hasbro who found success after the release of Transformers. These movies not only increase profits but also increases sales, and this is evident from the fact that the Transformers earned 4 billion dollars globally.
Conclusion
Even though View-Masters are a thing of the past and it was a part of an Escapist fantasy by a lot of people. They could escape reality and see the places they weren’t able to before. The partnership of Google and Mattel became a blessing in disguise as the beloved toy was revived again into a Virtual Reality experience for both kids and adults, and they integrated the old system with a brand new design. The aim currently is to revive the sales and to compete with their rival company Hasbro.