ROMO

ROMO stereo viewers were manufactured in Paris, France in the 1950's through until approximately 1967 or 1968. They were used to view strip format cards, each consisting of cards with 12 stereo pairs, although some special editions only consisted of 10 images. The quality of the images on the cards is very good and they retain their colour well. The viewers give superb clean and bright views.

The name ROMO was derived from the name of it's creator Robert Mouzillat, whose offices were located at  4 bis, rue de Bouloi, Paris.

 ROMO Junior made in 1954

This is the smallest of the ROMO viewer range and was intended for children. The picture cards, each containing 12 stereo pairs, were pulled through by hand. On the leaflet that came with this viewer were the words, "En un mot. ROMO. Pense aux Enfants", which translates to ,"In a word. ROMO. Think of the children"

click here to see a ROMO leaflet announcing new TinTin slides from 1957

An early  ROMO "La Stéréochromie" Standard Mk. 1 Viewer from 1955
Made from bakelite. Each viewer carries the words Breveté SGDG on it which is French for patent.

The front pages from two 1954 ROMO slide catalogues

A ROMO Standard Mk. II Viewer from 1958.

This viewer still sports the flared eye-pieces of the earlier bakelite version shown above, but was manufactured from plastic. Although this viewer is very similar to the earlier 'Star' viewer (see brochure pictures at the foot of this page), it still sports the name 'Standard' on the nameplate. It can be differentiated from the early 'Star' viewer by the absence of a  bridge between the eye-pieces.

A cream coloured ROMO Standard. This viewer was in a box marked 'Star' with a slide list dated 1957, so it suggests that the Standard and the Star name were both used for this style of viewer. The 'Star' viewer shown in the catalogue picture below is slightly earlier and dates to around 1955

A ROMO Vick 'Standard' Viewer made from plastic

Two Vick viewers in different colours. They were made from plastic and sold around 1963 - 1968(?)
The red viewer is considerably rarer than the cream coloured variety. The face of the viewer is the same as the 'Standard' show above, however the eye-pieces have been modernised.

Red / Cream  

ROMO Cards have descriptions written on the reverse side in both French and English. The cards covered subjects such as The Arts, Science, History, Geography and Tourism.

Image taken from Édition Spéciale Lourdes et Environs	Image taken from card BIARRITZ 806 Plage de la Chambre d'Amour

* click here for ROMO Slide List 1957 *

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