1950's Sawyer's Stereoscope Viewmaster with 28 reels

In late 1939, the View-Master was introduced at the New York World's Fair (marked "Patent Applied For"). It was intended as an alternative to the scenic postcard, and was originally sold at photography shops, stationery stores, and scenic-attraction gift shops. The main subjects of View-Master disks were Carlsbad Caverns and the Grand Canyon.^[1]



In the 1940s, the United States military recognized the potential for using View-Master products for personnel training, purchasing 100,000 viewers and nearly six million disks from 1942 to the end of World War II, in 1945.^[1]
In 1950, Sawyer's built a factory in Beaverton, Oregon to build the View-Master. The site's supply well later ended up on Oregon's list for toxic waste sites.
In 1951, Sawyer's purchased Tru-Vue, the main competitor of View-Master. In addition to eliminating the main rival, the takeover also gave Sawyer's Tru-Vue's licensing rights to Walt Disney Studios. Sawyer's capitalized on the opportunity and produced numerous disks featuring Disney characters. The takeover would pay off further in 1955, with disks of the newly opened Disneyland.

This item includes a mint condition Stereoscope Viewmaster with 28 reels. $50