The View Master stereoscopic viewing system was invented by William Gruber in the 1930s and made its debut at the 1939 New York World's Fair. Originally manufactured by the Sawyer's Company of Portland, Oregon, the ownership of the brand has passed through a number of hands. Although the ownership of the name and the appearance of the viewers and reels have changed through the decades, their format has not. The newest reels work in the oldest viewers. The oldest reels work in the newest viewers.

In the early years, the View Master was presented as a souvenir item. Scenic reels were sold on location, in department stores and by mail order. Today it is primarily presented and looked upon as a child's toy, although scenic reels are still produced by Fisher Price (the current owner of the View Master brand). The reels have also been used as training and teaching devices by the US military and medical schools. They have been and still are a popular item for product promotion. You could even buy a View Master camera and take your own 3D photographs.

Viewers: The earliest viewers (Models A and B) opened up to insert the reels. These viewers are sometimes called clamshell viewers. In the late 1940s, Sawyer's introduced the sturdy Model C viewer. Made of black or brown Bakelite, the Model Cs have proved to be incredibly durable. You can find Model Cs on eBay for as little as $5.00 plus shipping. The letter designation system has continued, and the current model is the Model O. The O is nice because it captures light from above so you don't have to tip your head back to view the reels.

Some viewers deserve special mention. The Model D (late 50s through early 70s) viewer has a built in light, a focusing mechanism, and a stronger magnification that the standard viewer. It is considered the premium viewer by many collectors. Expect to pay $100 or more for an operating Model D with its original box. The Model J (The Space Viewer) bore a resemblance to a space helmet. Depending on the color, Space Viewers can cost upwards of $100 or more. Most other models are available on eBay for less than $10.00.

Buying tips: Don't get carried away bidding on an old viewer. They have character, but there are thousands of them out there, and the one you buy at Target works every bit as good as the old ones. If it's a common viewer, $15.00 including shipping is reasonable. You may pay more for a box in pristine condition. For viewing, avoid the Virtual Viewer produced a few years ago.

Reels: The earliest reels produced were blue and had a gold foil center. The gold foil was dropped fairly early and the next type of reel was buff colored with a blue ring. Later the blue ring was dropped and the reels were entirely buff. By the mid 1940s, the reels had become the standard white reels most of us recognize today. The earliest type font was a pseudo hand written font which is referred to by collectors as hand lettered (although it really wasn't). Gold foil reels usually demand a premium greater than blue ring reels. Buff and hand lettered reels don't seem to influence the price of the reel as much.

In the 1950s, Sawyer's began packaging their reels in 3 reel sets, a format which is still in effect today. It is far beyond the scope of this guide to try to describe the topics of reels and packets produced through the years. There are books available and dozens of websites that contain that information. There are some reels and packets that deserve mention, however.

Reel 1305 President Kennedy's Visit to Ireland Jan. 1963 is the Holy Grail of View Master reels. Expect to pay $500 or more for a clean copy. There are perhaps some three dozen or so regular production reels that command prices in excess of $100. Movie preview reels produced for and available to movie theaters for coming attractions routinely bring prices in excess of $100. Advertising reels were made for products ranging from Coca Cola to Studebaker. These reels (depending on the product) can also be rather pricey. Packets for some TV shows (Addams Family, The Munsters) and some theme parks (Astroworld, Freedomland) can also be expensive.

Buying Tips: Ask about condition. Many reels from the 60s and 70s suffer from blistering in which the paper on the reel bubbles up, primarily due to the glue used during those years. Wear rings caused by the metal disc inside some older viewers can be erased with a pencil eraser, but if the reel paper has yellowed, it's probably going to stay that way. After Kodachrome film stock was dropped (1960s), some images have a tendency to turn red (magentize).

Storage Boxes: A number of different storage systems have been produced over the years. The earliest were the Library Boxes for single reels produced by Sawyer's. They were made in several different colors, with maroon and cream being the most common. More often than not, these boxes will have chips in the lid. Expect to pay about $25.00 or more for a Library Box with no chips. In the 1960s a storage box was produced to hold several 3 reel packets and a viewer. These were sturdier and are less likely to have damage.

Projectors: Projectors for 2D viewing have been available for View Master reels since the earliest days. The quality of most of these has always left something to be desired. The one exception is the Stereomatic projector which actually let you project the images in 3D (with special polarized glasses). Prices for the Stereomatic can exceed $500.00.

Talking Viewers: None of the companies which have owned the View-Master brand have ever produced a reliable talking viewer until recently. Expect sounds to be out of sync with the images, scratches (the earlier ones used miniature records), and unintelligible narration. The current model using sound chip technology works great.

I hope you have found this guide to be helpful. I welcome your input and suggestions. My eBay User ID is rustymustydustystuff, and I can be contacted through any of my listings on eBay. More information about View Masters and their history can be found online. There is a very active collector base both in the USA and Europe. Thousands of reels and viewers are always available on eBay.