The Magicolor stereoscope was
manufactured by Colorscope Inc. in Moline, Illinois in the 1940's for a very
short period. These stylishly curved viewers are extremely scarce. The
viewer was manufactured from marbled plastic and was reasonably heavy
for it's size. The picture card was moved through the viewer from top to
bottom by pressing the mushroom shaped spring loaded plunger.
These viewers could also be found
built into the Colorscope Penny Peep Show slot machines, which were
operated when the user inserted a one cent coin.
This viewer is quite similar to
the one shown above on the side with the eyepieces, however, the
diffuser side has been completely remodelled. Instead of a plunger
advance mechanism this one utilised a thumbwheel. This thumbwheel drove
a rubber wheel which pulled the slide through the viewer.
A very common fault with
Colorscope viewers is that the body warps, resulting in the slot into
which the slide is placed closing up, to the point where it can no
longer accept a slide.
( Credit: John Mandjik for
the Instructions Sheet)
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