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View-Master

3/31/2018

20 Comments

 
Picture
Long before hundreds of television channels, cheap air fares and the Internet, there was the View-Master.
 
A modern version of a stereoscope (a device first invented in the 1800s, it was used to look at early photos in 3D), this particular model was marketed to post World War II baby boomers, and their parents, as a way to see the wonders of the world without ever leaving home.
 
And, in the years before the phrase “educational toy” existed, it was that as well. 
 
Like millions of other 1950s households, we had a View-Master.
 
Dark brown and made of Bakelite, the device was lightweight; resembled a Brownie camera, and was nearly impossible to break.  Clicking its single lever down with my thumb, I spent many afternoons peering at the dozens of View-Master “reels” (actually, cardboard discs inserted into the top of the viewer, one at a time, which then rotated with each click) in our collection.   
 
Each disc had a set of 14 slides, all in life-like 3D. The colors were also spectacular because each picture had been shot with Kodachrome. Sometimes a disc told a story from beginning to end, like a Woody Woodpecker cartoon. More often, they were touristy images of exciting and exotic places—Natural Habitats of Africa; The Oregon Caves, and Garden Isle of Hawaii.   
 
I recently discovered our View-Master in my garage.   There were also 35 reels, most with a date of 1955, and each one was still carefully tucked in its own blue and white envelope.  Everything was manufactured by Sawyer’s of Portland, Oregon, whose owners introduced their creation at the 1939 World Fair in New York City, and patented the device that year. 
 
I’d forgotten that I’d found the same box before, in another garage at another house.  I wasn’t ready to give it up then.  This toy had been an important part of my childhood: it gave me the fuel that let me dream about corners of the world that I knew our family could never afford to see in person.
 
I’ve done a good bit of traveling since my little girl self sat in a cramped living room, enthralled with our View-Master. 
 
Journeys have included crisscrossing the country as a professional circus clown, which included driving to every gig in my Datsun 710 sedan.  In the rear seat directly behind me were my costumes, makeup and props.  Next to me, the front passenger seat had been torn out to make room for a long plywood board and air mattress.  In this way, the car doubled as my bed, and after I made curtains for the windows, it wasn’t half bad.   
 
There have been other far-flung escapades.  I can still recall strolling down the greenest of hills in Switzerland, right next to cows wearing leather collars with bells on them, clanging with every step they took.  I’ve seen old-fashioned windmills turning in The Netherlands, and gazed up at Mount Fuji in Japan.  I brought my tiny baby girl home from China, and spent time in the former Republic of Georgia making a documentary film.  This past February, I went to Lake Atitlan in Guatemala, one of the most beautiful bodies of water on the planet.   
 
Each of these adventures has given me a perspective on the world that has helped shape me into the curious and questioning reporter that I am today.
 
But now, it’s time to pack up the View-Master and the reels.   
 
They’ll be in good hands, going to a friend on the East Coast who collects vintage toys.  As it turns out, he hasn’t been to nearly as many places as I’ve been lucky enough to see. 
 
But maybe the View-Master will change that.    
20 Comments
Susan Jordan
3/31/2018 10:58:05 pm

I had a late 1960s one in a dark putty color, and had The Flintstones and Charlie Brown reels, among others. The funny thing is, as young as I was, I also very much wanted the travel ones, like Puerto Rico and France, etc, but never really got ay of those. In the early 1970s, I alao received a Talking View-Master as a gift. I liked it, but it broke, and that was the end of that. I wonder what kids today would think of View-Masters? I think they'd probably need to be very young to like them nowadays.

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Hilary
4/1/2018 10:38:00 am

When I was doing research for this piece, I learned about the talking View-Master, which made sense. Because looking at my reels, each slide has a short caption, but when you look at the slide in the machine, you can't see the caption. Design fail... or maybe not? Maybe it was a way to encourage kids to read? I don't think kids would get into the View-Master today, because there are so many other ways to see the world. But OH, that 3D and Kodachrome! :)

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shirley jones link
4/1/2018 05:55:56 am

I commented on the Hilary's page...just saying I enjoy her blogs.
SJ

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Hilary
4/1/2018 10:38:28 am

Thank you! MUCH appreciated, Shirley!

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leslie spoon
4/1/2018 07:22:30 am

Hilary I think I remember those when I was a kid but I never had one. I am sure they were fun and exposed children to the world out there.

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Hilary
4/1/2018 10:39:50 am

I think my mom was really into any sort of toy that was educational; if she could afford to buy it for us, she would. In any case, it was one that I loved, and as you read, changed my life. :)

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Andrea
4/1/2018 10:46:26 am

I remember those! I did not have one, but a few friends did and you're right, the photos were almost an eerie and curious glimpse into another world--I remember wondering, what if that were my life? How different would I be?

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Hilary Grant
4/1/2018 12:18:59 pm

You're right; there definitely was a bit of eerie to the photos. Maybe because the colors were so bright, and the 3D so vivid. But what they did for me was give me the opportunity to see an entirely different world from my working class background.

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George Marshall link
4/1/2018 07:57:30 pm

yes, I remember what a pleasure it was and somehow different than flipping through the pages of a book. Someone anticipated the child's fascination at being at the controls.

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Hilary
4/1/2018 08:21:24 pm

YES! The color and 3D made it extra special... and having the ability to control the clicks was part of the anticipation, too!

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Mary Catt
4/3/2018 07:49:44 pm

Terrific, as always. Go, Hilary! I’m 60, so missed that toy by a hair, but maybe my parents just didn’t buy me one. I did have a Casper doll, though. It had a string on the back. It made a sound when pulled. Off to Safari to see if i can find the sound!

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Hilary
4/4/2018 01:15:35 pm

One friend who is a dozen years younger remembers having three of them, so I think your parents deprived you. LOL! But here's one of the ghost dolls on Ebay... asking $69. Wow! https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Casper-The-Friendly-Ghost-Mattel-Talking-Doll-With-Pull-String-1962/253536391966?hash=item3b07f2531e:g:ijwAAOSw8b1aGf2I

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Becky
4/4/2018 10:47:17 am

They make a "virtual reality" model now!

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Hilary Grant
4/4/2018 01:17:42 pm

Yes, I saw that when I was doing my research. In the past, I would have included that info in the post, but I'm trying to get tighter and shorter now, and relate the subject to as much of my own experience as I can, but still have a bit of a reporter angle. I'm also not asking questions at the end, because I figure that by now, my readers KNOW I'd love a comment! :)

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Larry
4/5/2018 11:12:39 am

On snowy or rainy days when going outside was not possible the combination of my books and my View Master kept me occupied. Fond memories!

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Hilary Grant
4/5/2018 07:29:50 pm

Definitely a great inclement weather toy! :)

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Kim Fonturbel
4/8/2018 10:31:55 pm

I loved this piece Hilary. I want to hear more about your travels sometime as I have not travelled much and love to armchair travel via stories. I love view masters. I bought them from 2nd hand stores for my girls to use through the 90's. We all enjoyed them. Ours were Red. The tactical experience and vibrancy of the depictions make them such an indelible toy experience one never forgets and brings such nostalgia when spotted.

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Hilary Grant
4/10/2018 07:26:25 pm

Did the red View-Masters talk? Or could you read the caption under each picture while looking at the picture? We had the vibrancy of the pictures, but the caption was below the actual photo, and it couldn't be seen when looking through the View-Master we had. Design flaw! :)

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kerri fisher
4/17/2018 02:47:24 pm

Delightful blog - love your writing. I could hear the cowbells clanging! I know I had a Viewmaster, but dang if I can't remember a thing about it. Well, actually I remember the sound it would make when I pulled the device down that would change the photo - I just don't remember any of my discs. I am grateful for parents who kept me supplied with educational toys of all kind.

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Hilary
4/17/2018 04:09:47 pm

I still remember the cowbells, too . I also remember thinking, "BE in this moment. STAY in this moment!" This was outside the town of Zurich, Switzerland, in the springtime. The week before, I had worked at a film market in Milan, and my aunt knew a young man and his wife, and told me to look them up. I stayed with them a few days. Anyway, I took a sky rail thing up the hill, and then walked down. It really was like being SMACK in a location from The Sound of Music. :)

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    Hilary Roberts Grant

    Journalist, editor, filmmaker, foodie--and a clown! 
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