Lewis Barnavelt knows something about view-master slides. He "had a picture of [a Mayan pyramid] among his Viewmaster slides. Only this scene [in the coat rack mirror] was not fake three dimensional, the way the slides were (The House with a Clock in its Walls, 25).”
The View-Master system was invented by William Gruber, who introduced his experiment at the 1939 New York World’s Fair. Gruber’s intent was to update the stereoscopes of old with the new Kodachrome color film that had just been made public four year before. Marketed as an “alternative to the scenic postcard,” the picture reels were sold in gift shops and stationary stores and featured popular outdoors attractions like the Grand Canyon.In the 1940s the United State Military used the View-Master reels for training purposes and in the next decade the company gained licensing rights to produce Walt Disney-themed reels showcasing Disney characters and the recently-opened Disneyland Park. By the 1960s many of the scenic outdoor photos were replaced with child-friendly subject matter. After various changes in ownership, the View-Master today is owned by Fisher Price.
Lewis knows what a view-master is, true, but I can't help wonder if any of the younger crowd reading House does?
Good point, they probably don't. I've played with a Viewmaster like what Lewis had; my mom kept hers from the early 50s, which she was supposed to use as vision therapy for her amblyopia. So we still have those early Disney and scenic collections! So my own kids do know, but I'd bet they're rare.
ReplyDeleteI always considered them an updated Steroscope viewer. The Viewmaster has more images on it's wheel than the old Steroscope cards had and were much more colorful. I had both when I was young. My father liked to buy and sell antiques, so we had many older items around the house. How many of today's reader would remember the Steroscope?
ReplyDeleteThat should read Stereoscope. I am not sure how I managed to misspell that three times.
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