Read more about the history of the ViewMaster on the webwite "20th Century Stereo Viewer" by Keith Clatworthy of the U.K. at www.viewmaster.co.uk
World's Fair View Master Reels - Index
1939-40 New York World's Fair
Many thanks to Eric Beheim for capturing the images from six Viewmaster reels.
Of the many products first introduced at the 1940 New York World's Fair, one of the most successful was the View-Master three-dimensional imaging system.
The idea for mass-producing full color 3-D transparencies in an easy-to-use format was conceived by William Gruber, a piano tuner and organ maker from Portland, Oregon. During the summer of 1938, Gruber described his idea to Harold Graves, president of Sawyer's, a Portland company that made postcards and did photo finishing work. Suitably impressed with the sales potential of such a system, Graves persuaded his partners to add it to their line. Uncertain as to what to call their new product, people within the Sawyer's organization eventually came up with the name View-Master. (Even though the View-Master brand name would eventually come to be recognized by 65% of the world's population, William Gruber its inventor hated it, since it sounded too much like Toast-Master, Mix-Master or some other kitchen appliance.)
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Reel 86 - Pre WWII
Reel 87 - Pre WWII
Reel 88 - Pre WWII
Reel 86 - Pre WWII
Reel 87 - Pre WWII Reel 88 - Pre WWII
Gruber himself designed the machine that mounted the tiny pieces of Kodachrome color transparency film into reels made from heavy paper stock. A special viewer was also designed and produced.
During 1939, Harold Graves and William Gruber traveled to various scenic locations around the country to obtain 3-D images for the first View-Master reels to be issued. Among the places that Graves visited was the New York World's Fair. The photographs he took there were eventually released as reels #86, #87, #88, and #89.
After some test marketing in the Portland area in late 1939, the Sawyer's View-Master was officially introduced to the public in 1940 at the New York World's Fair and at the Golden Gate Exposition in San Francisco. Viewers sold for $1.50 and individual reels sold for 35 cents each.
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Reel 89 - Pre WWII
Reel 88 - Post WWII
Reel 89 - Post WWII
Reel 89 - Pre WWII Reel 88 - Post WWII Reel 89 - Post WWII
After some test marketing in the Portland area in late 1939, the Sawyer's View-Master was officially introduced to the public in 1940 at the New York World's Fair and at the Golden Gate Exposition in San Francisco. Viewers sold for $1.50 and individual reels sold for 35 cents each.
An immediate hit with the public, View-Master went on to become one of the most successful products of all time. To date, well over 1 billion reels have been produced as well as hundreds of millions of viewers.
Of the four World's Fairs reels that were sold, #88 and #89 remained in the Sawyer's catalogue the longest and are the ones most frequently encountered today. Thanks to the use of Kodachrome film, the colors remain just as bright and fresh as if they had been photographed yesterday.