Wednesday, April 25, 2012

VIEW-MASTER (A-Z April Blog Challenge)

Picture credit: http://warmwire.blogspot.com/2010/07/surreal_15.html
Age doesn’t matter when it comes to a View-Master.   Anyone between the ages of five and 95 know about these little beauties.  One viewer, one disk with fourteen film slides mounted on a paper disc that produced seven magical 3-D images.  The discs are limitless and although View-Masters are now used primarily by children, they were originally used mostly by adults to view not only tourism discs, but educational ones as well.

I had all sorts of incredible discs for my View-Master.  Some were cartoons or Disney characters, but it was the animals, wildlife and landscapes that were my favorites.  Far off places like Peru and Switzerland were suddenly RIGHT THERE in front of me.  And yes, more than once or twice, I reached my hand out as I was looking through the viewer, sure that I’d be able to feel something. 

They were just a couple dollars in my youth, and now run for a little under ten.  The ORIGINALS, I mean.  Not the ones that “talk” and not the ones that automatically turn the slide for you.  (Isn’t that a slide view projector? ) At any rate, they operate the same as they always did and more than once I remember getting my finger caught by the lever on the right as I advanced to the next slide.  That would end up in a mixed picture of two of the images and made for some great viewing!

For as much as my husband and I loved ours, our son never owned one.  He got lots of the other classic toys we  had growing up – the Legos, Lincoln Logs, Pick Up Sticks, Card Games, Candy Land, wooden blocks, dominoes…but never his own View-Master.  The 3-D aspect would have been the coolest thing ever to him.

And it’s not going away anytime soon.  Yes, you can still buy the original from Fisher Price, but as I was being nostalgic and looking around on the web at this little marvel of a toy, I found you can MAKE YOUR OWN disks now as well as personalize the View-Master.  There are numerous facebook pages devoted to View-Master.  You can buy vintage reels and any number of accessories to store your reels.  And for those who have realized they just can’t leave home without it, you can now buy an app from the Apple iTunes app store.  Amazing…………..

It’s nice to know even with adding automation, technology and who knows who knows what else, the love of the old classic is what’s fueling the fire and remains the foundation for the love of all things View-Master.   We need more things with that kind of staying power today. 

16 comments:

  1. Love Viewmasters, and yes, that halfway between image. I think I visited Disneyland for the first time via Viewmaster. Would love to make my own discs (but probably won't).

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    1. Loved the Disneyland ones. Didn't see it in person til I was an adult!

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  2. I am getting one of these for all my grand kids. You have renewed my love of this simple yet amazing toy. I remember even as a teen loving to get lost in the pictures in 3D.
    Yep, I'm ordering these for birthdays coming up this year. Thanks! ♥

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    1. You're welcome Jo - I am getting one for my five year old nephew for his birthday too.

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  3. I don't remember them as a child, maybe we couldn't get them in the UK at that time!

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  4. My boys had these but unfortunately with technology, they lost their novelity a lot sooner than they did when I was a chid. It was like being transported to another world.

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  5. I loved my view master when I was young and so did my son! My grandkids liked it for awhile but never had the same appreciation that we did. XOXO

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  6. I loved my view master when I was a kid!! My daughter never got into hers. Such a pity. I thought it was so cool to look inside and see Barbie or Mickey Mouse!! Great V post!!

    Kathy
    http://gigglingtruckerswife.blogspot.com

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  7. I loved Viewmaster, too! I also had a few Disney ones--I especially remember Sleeping Beauty, from the film. A few years ago my husband happened to mention that he'd never had one as a kid, so I bought him one for Christmas, with an outer-space reel. It really took me back. So why didn't you get Abe one?

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    1. Oddly enough, I just never thought to get him one. Maybe this year - you inspire me with Tim's - I bet he loved it!

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  8. Make your own discs??? OHHHHHHhhhh you had to tell me that didn't ya!

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  9. I couldn’t agree more with you on this Amy. We share the same passion for the classics. They are a legacy of the ingenuity of the generation that came before us and a constant reminder to us and our children of the endless capabilities that humanity possesses.

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    1. Beautifully put Francesca. Thank you for taking the time to read and comment!

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