When Harold Graves, president of Sawyer’s Photographic Services, went to the Oregon Caves National Monument in 1938, he saw fellow camera buff William Gruber using two cameras strapped together. Gruber explained that he planned to update the stereoscopes common in 19th-century drawing rooms by producing three-dimensional color slides and a new hand-held viewer. By the next morning, the two had made a deal to produce View-Master. They introduced their creation at the 1939 New York World’s Fair and then began selling it through specialty photography stores.

Following the lead of its predecessor, the first reels presented views of scenic attractions around the country. In 1951, however, View-Master acquired its main competitor, film-strip production company Tru-Vue, and with it the stereo licensing rights to all Disney characters. Graves and Gruber hit the jackpot. View-Master began offering three-dimensional images of the brand new Disneyland amusement park and stills from Disney movies and TV programs. Once sales exploded, the company also began offering reels of virtually every major kids’ show and motion picture. A number of different manufacturers have produced View-Master, including Tyco Toys and Fisher-Price.


101 Dalmations
Alice in Wonderland
Arabian Nights
Aristocats
Babes in Toyland
Bambi
Banana Splits*
Barbie's Around the World Trip
Benji Superstar!
Benji's Very Own Christmas
Bible Heroes*
Black Beauty*
Brady Bunch*
Brady Bunch Talking View-Master*
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century*
Bugs Bunny (1959)
Can't Stop the Music*
Casper the Friendly Ghost*
the Cat from Outer Space
Charlie Brown's Summer Fun*
Cinderella*
Close Encounters of the Third Kind*
Dennis the Menace
Disneyland - Fantasyland*
Disney On Paradde*
Doctor Who
Dr. Shrinker & Wonderbug*
Dr. Strange
Dukes of Hazzard
Fantastic Four
Flash Gordon*
Flintstones*
Flipper*
Frankenstein*
G.I. Joe Talking View-Master*
Godzilla
Good Guys Gift Pak*
Green Hornet*
Grizzly Adams*
Gunsmoke Talking View-Master*
Hair Bear Bunch*
Happy Days*
Hawaii Five-O Talking View-Master*
Heidi*
Herbie Rides Again
Here's Lucy: 'Lucy and the Astronauts'*
Isis*
It's A Bird, Charlie Brown*
Joe Forrester*
Jungle Book*
King Kong*
KISS
Knott's Berry Farm*
Korg 70,000 BC*
Lancelot Link Secret Chimp*
Land of the Giants*
Land of the Lost*
Lassie & Timmy
Lassie Look Homeward Talking View-Master*
Lassie Rides the Log Flume
Laugh-In*
Legend of Indiana Jones Gift Set*
the Little Drummer Boy
Little Red Riding Hood
the Littlest Angel
Lost in Space
the Love Bug
Mickey Mouse (1958)
Mission Impossible*
the Monkees*
Moon Rockets and Guided Missiles*
Mork & Mindy*
Munsters*
Muppets Go Hawaiian*
the Night Before Christmas Pee-Wee's Playhouse Gift Set*
Pinocchio*
Prehistoric Life: Paleontology*
Project Apollo
Raggedy Ann & Andy Talking View-Master*
Rare Coins
the Rescuers
Roy Rogers Adventure Roundup
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Run Joe Run*
Scooby Doo in 'That's No Ghost'*
Sigmund & the Sea Monsters*
Six Million Dollar Man Talking View-Master*
Snoopy and the Red Baron
Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs
Space: 1999
Spider-Man Talking View-Master*
Star Trek*
Star Trek (animated series)
Superman Meets Computer Crook*
Superman the Movie*
Tarzan of the Apes*
Time Tunnel
U.S. Spaceport
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea*
the War Between the States
Welcome Back Kotter*
Wizard of Oz*
Wolf Man*