View-Master reels – Star Trek, 1982



Presenting: packaging and reel images for the 1982 View-Master Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. View Master. 1982.


Reel images. Click to enlarge.



Thanks for looking 🙂 More View-Master goodies can be seen here 

Mickey Mouse 1978 View-Master Gift Set

The latest addition to TVTA’s View-Master collection is this lovely 1978 Mickey Mouse 50th anniversary gift set.

The three stories included are: “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”, “Mickey And The Beanstalk” and “Mickey’s Delayed Date”.

These stories were also made available in 1978 on a blister pack titled “Mickey Mouse Jubilee”.


Packaging

Reels and multi-lingual booklet


Reel images

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice


Mickey and the Beanstalk


Mickey’s Delayed Date


Thank you for belatedly celebrating Mickey’s fiftieth with us 🙂 Check out our main View-Master page for more stereoscopic goodies to delight your eyes!

View-Master reels: Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea – 1954.



The following selected scans are of the Gaf View-Master reels and packaging for Jules Verne’s sci-fi classic 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.  

More View-Master goodies can be seen here Thanks for looking 🙂


Reels and packaging images


Slide images

It’s really finicky trying to get images of View-Master slides which are less than an inch in size and more than fifty years old! I tried scanning them at first – to no avail, but ended up with some half-decent camera shots using my trusty Fuji. The set designs and character figures for the narrative are pretty stunning I think.

 


Thanks for looking 🙂 And big thanks to good friend and fellow WP blogger Spira who sent me the above View-Master reel in a recent trade. Please check out Spira’s wonderful art blog inspiration


Bonus TVTA trivia: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by French writer Jules Verne was originally published in serial format throughout 1869 and 1870. Its first translation into English language occurred in 1873, with many errors in the translation of Verne’s French, including some character changes. The French title – Vingt mille lieues sous les mers  actually means Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas – plural, not Sea singular, and relates to the distance travelled under the sea – 80,000 kilometres, and not the depth. The farthest depth reached as mentioned in the novel is only 4 leagues. The novel’s full French title is Vingt mille lieues sous les mers: Tour du monde sous-marin, “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas: A Tour of the Underwater World”. Translation and character errors occurred up until the 1960s and 1990s when attempts were made to translate the novel faithfully to Verne’s original.

View-Master reels: Peanuts, Flintstones, Hans Christian Andersen

The following selected scans are of the Gaf View-Master reels and packaging for Peanuts (1966), the Flintstones (1962), and Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales (1958). More View-Master goodies can be seen here Thanks for looking 🙂


Peanuts, 1966

View-Master. Peanuts. 1966.


The Flintstones, 1962

View-Master. The Flintstones. 1962.


Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales, 1958

View-Master. Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales. 1958.


Big thanks to good friend and fellow WP blogger Spira who sent me the above View-Master reels in a recent trade. Please check out Spira’s wonderful art blog inspiration


 

MOTU 1983 View-Master Gift Set

The latest addition to TVTA’s toy room is this superb 1983 View-Master MOTU gift set.

I must have been about nine the first time I looked through a View-Master – Planet of the Apes and Disney images are what I remember seeing, all in wonderful 3-D colour. It was like staring through two keyholes that promised magical lands, heroes and creatures… a whole new dimension to the wide-open eyes of the nine-year old me. If kaleidoscopes were the Stickle Bricks of the optical toy world, then View-Master was the Lego 🙂

So, onto the MOTU gift set, and fabulous secret powers were revealed to TVTA when we attempted to photograph a few sample images of He-Man and his pals direct from the View-Master. No easy task. Here are our (2D) results …

Onto the box, which hasn’t fared too badly over the years, and some attractive artwork along with a very pleasing overall design …

Front

Reverse – note the cut-out window through which light could enter, enabling you to view the images of a reel before purchasing the gift set.

Sides

Ends

And finally, a French ad featuring the gift set …

France. Pif Gadget. 1984.

Thank you for inserting “up for viewer” with us 🙂 Please check out our main View-Master page which has tons of stereoscopic delights for your eyes!

VIEW-MASTER… worlds within two windows

View-Master titles. France. Pif Gadget. 1984.

The View-Master stereoscopic viewer was originally produced by the Sawyer’s company. It was introduced at the 1939 New York World’s Fair as an alternative to the scenic postcard, with images set in cardboard reels that could be inserted into the viewer. In 1966 the GAF company (General Aniline & Film) took over responsibility and began producing reels aimed at the children’s market such as cartoons, TV shows and film. View-Master continues to be produced to date and is currently owned by Mattel. In 1999 it was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame. There is a nice little write-up about it here: View-Master Toy Hall of Fame

View-Master The Muppet Show. France. Pif Gadget. 1979.


View-Master titles. France. Pif Gadget. 1982.


Sesame Street, Star Trek, Snow White

View-Master reels in their original packets.


Dutch catalogue, 1970s


1951 View-Master

1951 Sawyer’s View-Master and Gaf Mail Order booklet.


Early Heroes World advert featuring the GAF View-Master Good Guys Gift Pack. US. The Superhero Book of Goodies. 1977.


View-Master rear image of packaging, 1980s.


View Master advert. 1965. France.


Assorted reels and gift sets

Masters of the Universe gift set, 1983


Mickey Mouse 50th Anniversary gift set, 1978


Peanuts, 1966


The Flintstones, 1962


Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales, 1958


Flash Gordon, 1976


20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, 1954


Thanks for looking through two little windows with us 🙂

Post updated May 2022 with one new image.