Object ID
F2014.108
Object Name
Camera, View
Date Created
circa 1945
Object Description
Black plastic view-master to view reels and slides. This viewer has two eye lenses- like for binoculars with a slit in the top to put the picture in. There is a lever on the side that works to release the photos. This is attached with a piece of plastic and screw at the bottom to a battery powered light which lights up behind the photos to make it easier to see them. The light attachment has a large red button on the top labeled "press" that operates the light inside. The emprinted label on the viewfinder reads "Sawyer's View-Master, reg us pat off, us pat 2189285, brit pat 538492. can pat 406893, other pat pend, Portland- Ore."
Origin
View-Master is the trademark name of a line of special-format stereoscopes and corresponding View-Master "reels", which are thin cardboard disks containing seven stereoscopic 3-D pairs of small color photographs on film.[1]

The View-Master system was introduced in 1939, four years after the advent of Kodachrome color film made the use of small high-quality photographic color images practical. Tourist attraction and travel views predominated in View-Master's early lists of available reels, most of which were meant to be interesting to users of all ages. Most current View-Master reels are intended for children.
Rights and Reproduction
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Citation
Camera, View, circa 1945, National Hellenic Museum, https://collections.nationalhellenicmuseum.org/Detail/objects/10562. Accessed 03/28/24.