This Beka Star 3D viewer was designed
for children and was probably manufactured in the late 50's. The
lenses were made from plastic, mounted in the body of the viewer with
black parts glued in place to complete the lens enclosure.
This particular viewer was boxed and
sold under the Playcraft trade name as a 'Wonderscope'. Mettoy Playcraft
Ltd was a company based in Swansea, Wales and began trading in 1956.
The boxed set included three sets of
Noddy slides, with 9 cards per set. The cards have a story on their
reverse in English, French and German. This is a very scarce viewer and
is rarely found.
The viewer displayed here was
manufactured in England, but German manufactured examples are also know
to exist.
 
The story card sets consist of nine cards each, not ten
as you would normally expect. In one of the stories, Noddy shoots
Big Ears on the nose with a cork gun and then he laughs until he cries.
Not a very good example to children when you think about it!
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