The View Master

In the 1954 Sears Christmas Catalog something called a "View Master" among its pages. You would slip a round disc into the device then hold it towards the light.  When you looked into it you saw a scenic picture that looked real. You might have seen a waterfall that looked like it was right in front of you!  Then you would pull down a lever and another picture would rotate into view.  Those were the days!

The View Master was a stereoscopic  device that displayed 3-D transparent color images from circular cardboard reels.  It was invented by piano repairman, organ maker and avid photographer William B. Gruber and Harold Graves in Portland, Oregon.  Introduced at the 1939 New York World's Fair as a high-tech alternative to traditional scenic postcards.

Production survived and expanded during WWII when the U.S. military bought hundreds of thousands of viewers and reels for aircraft and artillery identification training.  They adopted the View Master because its 3-D perception offered a realistic way to train troops in visual recognition. 

Today, View Masters are worth anywhere from $10 to $50 for common models though rare editions and scarce reels can sell for $150 to over $500.

The View Master to a kid was magical!