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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2009
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Requiem for the View-Master

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(Newser) – Fisher-Price isn’t stopping production on its 3-D viewer, the View-Master, but it will no longer produce the huge catalog of picture-wheels that have delighted and enlightened generations of Americans, laments the Economist. The company will publish just a small number of children’s reels for the device that gave us 3-D before 3-D film. More than 1.5 billion of them have been produced.

The View-Master wasn’t just for kids. After its debut at the 1939 World’s Fair, soldiers in World War II used the viewer in training to tell enemy ships and aircraft from friendly ones. Medical students even learned human anatomy from the device. And the View-Master was near ubiquitous in post-war households, allowing immersion in a realistic world even before color came to movies.

These days, the View-Master is aimed mainly at children.
These days, the View-Master is aimed mainly at children.   (Getty Images)
An antique View-Master.
An antique View-Master.   (Flickr)
A View-Master photo reel.
A View-Master photo reel.   (AP Photo)
Mary Ann Sell loads a View-Master photo reel into a viewer from her collection.
Mary Ann Sell loads a View-Master photo reel into a viewer from her collection.   (AP Photo)
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2 comments
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riffran
Mar 15, 09 2:47 AM CDT
whatta bummer, I loved the veiwmaster as a child...... Reply
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wwwonderer
Mar 16, 09 10:26 AM CDT
Yeah, You stick that little film wheel in and have a blast, until you came back around to where you started. lol. It was great. Kids today have lack of imagination I think because they can see anything they want anytime they want. The no longer have to rely upon their brain for visuals. Sad. Reply
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