View-Master
Reels consist of a disk 9cm in diameter. Each disk contains 14 pictures,
which comprise of 7 stereo pairs. Sawyers and Gaf reels used Kodachrome
film and the colours last very well, even after 60 years. 99% of all
reels were made either in the USA or Belgium. Very small numbers were
also made in India, Australia, Austria and France, but they are all
fairly rare.
A great many variations exist of
colouration and label lettering. There are in excess of 60 different
label styles that can be found on View-Master reels. As well as that,
the colour of the reels has changed though their history. early reels
were blue with gold labels, then there were buff reels, yellows,
blues but the bulk of reels are white. Gold centre reels fetch a high
price when compared to their tan, white and blue ring equivalents.
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Whilst almost all reels were made
commercially, it was possible for an individual to make their own. This
required the use of a View-Master 3D camera, a film cutter and a special
type of reel, know as a Personal Reel, which allowed the user to
accurately align their stereo images.
click here to see a
Personal Reel
Images taken from Personal Glamour Reels
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Many reels were supplied with a small
booklet or informational slip. These either told a story relating to the
reel or gave information pertinent to the pictures on the reel, such as
a potted history or specific scene information
click here to see
examples of
two booklets
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Reels were commonly supplied
singularly, but were also available in thematic packets or sets.
Normally the packets contained three reels and a booklet. There was a
whole series of fairy-tale packets and these consisted of 3 and 6 reel
sets. These are prefixed with 'FT' and go from FT-1 to FT`-51. Generally
the reel packets were of a geographic location, botanical subject or
event.
click here to see some
Reel Packets
Example 1
Example 2
Example 3
Example 4
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Another sought after type of
View-Master reel is the 'DR' range. These were
Demonstration
Reels that were given away with
viewers or as promotions by dealers. Just over 80 different reels were
issued and some are very rare.
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Sawyers and Gaf were not the only
companies to make reels for the View-Master. An Italian company produced
reels under the name of Stereorama that were identical to
View-Master Reels. In Czechoslovakia, Meopta produced reels that were
identical as well, however, they were of a much lower quality.
click here to see a
Stereo-Rama
Reel click here to see a
Meopta Reel
click here to see a
Receipt dated 1946 for Reels
Most View-Master reels are fairly inexpensive, making
collecting them a great hobby, however, there is one reel which is the 'Holy Grail' of hard-core View-Master collectors and
that is reel 1305, President Kennedy's Visit Ireland June 1963. The reel was on sale for a very short time because it was withdrawn after Kennedy
was shot on the 22nd November 1963. For this reason there are very few in circulation. During 2005 a few surfaced and these sold for £180,
£186, £294
and £310 respectively, three of them via eBay.
click here to see
Reel 1305
View-Master Frame Scans
Click the links below to see some
scans of View-Master Reels. The scans are named starting with the reel
number and followed by the frame number on that reel.
Home Page 
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