Now You See It, Now You Don't!

TellZall's object for November is the ViewMaster.

Throughout the twentieth century, a number of new toys came into being, including the ViewMaster. ViewMasters allow the viewer to see three-dimensional images. The ViewMaster itself looks a little like a pair of binoculars. The images are slides placed on a round, flat reel that is inserted into the viewer. When you look into the ViewMaster, your right and left eyes see slightly different versions of the same image, making the picture look three-dimensional. Each reel contains seven pictures, usually connected to the same theme. To move from one image to the next, you move a lever. ViewMasters built upon the concept of stereographic photography, which had become popular in the nineteenth century.

ViewMasters first appeared for sale in 1939. A company named Sawyer's, Inc., located in Portland, Oregon, manufactured the first ViewMasters. William Gruber, a photographer, and Harold Graves, the president of Sawyer's Inc., designed and produced the toy. Sales remained fairly limited for the first year, but the company introduced the ViewMaster to the American public in a more significant way in 1940 at the New York World's Fair. Soon more than one thousand stores across the United States sold the toy!

The ViewMaster has had a number of roles during the years. During World War II, the United States government used ViewMasters to train troops. The reels contained pictures of military ships and planes, teaching soldiers and sailors to more quickly identify the enemy.

Many adults collected ViewMaster reels as souvenirs from national parks and other tourist sites during their travels. In 1951, Sawyer's, Inc., purchased the Tru-Vue Company, a competitor who had permission to produce images with Disney characters. In the 1950s, ViewMasters began producing reels from Walt Disney movies and cartoons, making the toy even more appealing to children. Subjects of reels also included television shows, historical events, and famous people, among others.

In 1966, Sawyer's became part of the General Aniline and Film Corporation (GAF). Under this company's leadership, the toy became more technologically advanced. GAF created a "talking" ViewMaster, as well as ViewMaster projectors.

In spite of these advances, ViewMasters became less popular in the 1970s. In 1980, Arnold Thaler acquired the ViewMaster line from GAF. Thaler added the ViewMaster products to Ideal Toys, which he also purchased. Thaler once again created more interest in the toy. Eventually TYCO purchased the company from Thaler in 1989. After TYCO merged with Mattel in 1997, ViewMaster became part of Mattel's Fisher-Price line.

Since the toy's introduction in 1939, customers have purchased more than one-billion ViewMasters. Although ViewMasters are not as popular among children today as they were in the past, there are many adults who collect the old reels. Many reels are worth much more today than what they originally sold for. ViewMaster is celebrating its 65th anniversary this year, and Fisher-Price has manufactured reproductions of the classic ViewMaster and several old reels in celebration.