Mike HanlonJanuary 20, 2004Happy Birthday to the View-Master Image Gallery (4 images)

The View-Master is a toy which people of all ages remember vividly from their childhood. It's one of those rare high-tech inventions that has maintained massive appeal across multiple generations and this month it is celebrating its 65th anniversary. Despite numerous new media devices entering its domain since it first hit the market in 1939, its appeal remains strong and the View-Master has now sold more than a billion units.

With just a glimpse through a View-Master viewer, people have been able to see 3-D images of some of the world's most popular people, places and events, both real and imaginary, past and present.

"View-Master has secured itself as a classic toy that continues to fuel the imaginations of children around the world," says Chuck Scothon, senior vice president of marketing, Fisher-Price. "It is truly a phenomenon that has transcended the toy box to achieve pop culture status."

It all began in 1938 when William Gruber, a piano tuner by trade and a stereo photographer by hobby, invented the View-Master. Soon after the idea took shape, Gruber created the first View-Master viewer and introduced it in Portland, Oregon in 1939. However, it wasn't until the following year at the 1940 New York World's Fair that the world began to pay attention. No one could have predicted the tremendous public response, given the stereograph had been around in various forms for 80 years prior.

Though Gruber did not invent the stereographic viewer, the View-Master found a form factor which significantly improved on the traditional stereograph and also took advantage of another breakthrough technology - the high resolution and rich colour of Kodak's then new Kodachrome film process.

Throughout its history, View-Master viewers have played a variety of roles.

During World War II, viewers were used in training for the U.S. military. After the war, public demand for View-Master viewers and reels skyrocketed. During the 1950s, the company mainly produced reels of various national parks and scenic attractions across the country, intended as souvenirs for adults.

In 1951, due to the acquisition of its only competitor, View-Master obtained the license to use Disney characters and quickly gained momentum in the children's market. Ever since, View-Master reels have featured some of the most popular cartoons, superheroes and fairytales that have become the mainstays of any View-Master reel collection.

The design and development of View-Master products was handled by several different corporations during the 1970s and 1980s. In April 1997, Tyco Toys, which had purchased View-Master in 1989, merged with Mattel. As a result of the merger, the View-Master line was assigned to Fisher-Price, where this American classic continues to thrive.

To celebrate View-Master's 65th anniversary, Fisher-Price is releasing a limited edition View-Master Boxed Set that includes a specially-decorated classic viewer and eight reels, one for each decade of the View-Master's existence, featuring scenes from the Apollo Moon Landing and the first American full-length animated movie, Snow White, to Indiana Jones and SpongeBob. Additionally, Fisher-Price will release the View-Master Time Capsule Assortment, which allows parents to take their kids back in time with nostalgic View-Master viewers and reels featuring favorite cartoon characters of the past.

The View-Master has not been available on the Australian market for several years but will be relaunched in Q1 2005.

祝View-Master生日快乐

view-master

图像画廊的生日2004happy（4幅）
的主视图是一个玩具，所有年龄段的人记得很清楚，从他们的童年。这是一种罕见的高科技发明，它一直保持着巨大的吸引力，在多代和这个月，它正在庆祝它的第六十五周年。尽管众多的新媒体设备进入其领域以来首次达到1939的市场，它的吸引力依然强劲，观主已经售出超过十亿台。

只需一瞥，通过视图主浏览器，人们已经能够看到一些世界上最受欢迎的人的三维图像，地点和事件，真实和虚构的，过去和现在。

< P >“查看主担保本身作为一种经典的玩具，继续燃料的想象世界各地的儿童，”查克说scothon，营销，费雪的高级副总裁。”它是一个真正的现象，已经超越了玩具盒实现流行文化中的地位。”

这一切都开始于1938威廉格鲁伯，通过贸易与爱好立体摄影师的钢琴调音师，发明了主视图。不久之后，思想开始形成了，他创造了第一个主视图查看和介绍它在波特兰，俄勒冈1939。然而，直到次年1940届纽约世界博览会上，世界才开始注意到这一点。没有人能预测，巨大的公众反应，给出了各种形式的立体画在80年前。

尽管格鲁伯没有发明立体查看器，查看主发现形式的因素显着改进传统的立体画，还利用另一个突破性的技术：高分辨率和柯达的新的彩色胶片中丰富的色彩。

纵观历史，观主观众都扮演各种角色。

二战期间，观众被用于训练的美国军队。战争结束后，公共需求的主视图的观众和卷轴暴涨。在上世纪50年代，公司主要生产各种国家公园和风景名胜区全国卷，作为纪念品的成年人。

< P > 1951，由于其唯一的竞争对手收购，主视图获得许可使用的迪斯尼人物和快速上涨的势头在儿童市场。从此，观主盘都有一些最受欢迎的漫画，超级英雄和神话，已经成为任何视图主卷收集的支柱。

设计和开发视图的主产品的处理是不同的公司在70年代和80年代。1997四月，泰科的玩具，曾在1989购买的主视图，与美泰合并。作为合并的结果，观主线被分配到费雪，这个美国经典继续蓬勃发展。

庆祝主视图的第六十五周年，费雪推出限量版套装，包括一个主视图特别装饰古典观众和八卷，一每一个十年的主视图的存在，具有场景从阿波罗登月，美国第一部长篇动画电影，白雪公主，印第安娜琼斯和海绵宝宝。此外，费雪将释放的角度掌握时间胶囊的分类，这让家长们带着孩子回来的时间与怀旧的主视图的观众和卷轴，过去最喜欢的卡通人物。

观主尚未在澳大利亚市场上几年，但将重新开张Q1 2005。