View-Master Store Displays

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I can't remember the last time I saw one of these but there are a lot of old friends in there.

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[Bruce Banner]

What an awesome picture. I still collect View-Master reels.
Still need a few of the old Marvel and DC ones .

[Earth 2 Chris]

Man, I loved looking at those giant cans of View-Master sets. I never got one because I already had all the individual ones, bought over time. But I was still tempted.

I still have most of my childhood reels and a viewer or two. My kids have used them as well!

Chris

[Hedji]

The quiet, serene engagement of looking into that other world, studying the depths of the image at your own pace. Absolutely therapeutic.

It's no wonder I'm a 3D nut these days.

[HardyGirl]

I View-Masters! I have 2 different collections of these; my school set, which are the ones my pre-schoolers use (very carefully under my watchful eye), and my home collection with lots of vintage goodness. I have 2 can sets (one is the first talking gift set, and the other is Space Theatre in the Round set shown above). I also have several boxed talking reel sets. Gotta be careful of those though. If they're stored in those boxes too long, the reels can become bowed and won't fit in the viewer properly.

I can't say I have ever seen a store display like those. I mostly just saw reel packets on store racks.

[Earth 2 Chris]

I specifically remember the View-Master display at our town Ben Franklin store. You walked down the stairs into the Toyland dept. It took up that whole bottom floor. The View-Masters were just past the counter to the far left. They were on the end of that aisle. You had peg boards with the individual reels hanging, and the canisters were below. I specifically recall being freaked out by this Wolf Man set. I was too scared to buy it!!!



Chris

[EmergencyIan]

Loved these as a kid, as well!

I had a regular view-master and a talking view-master. The only talking view-master reels that I can recall, that I had, is "The Three Little Pigs." Loved the regular view-master for years! Batman was a favorite reel.

- Ian

[MRP]

I got the Super-Friends bucket for Christmas when I was in kindergarten as well as a couple of the Marvel reels (Cap, Thor, Iron Man), and this is what really turned me on to super-heroes and comic books. I had watched super-hero cartoons earleir and had read the Sunday funnies and some Gold Key comics based on cartoons, but this was a watershed moment in turning me into a comic book junkie, a passion that still endures (though I mostly like non-super-hero comics these days).

I had a ton of other Viewmaster reels (Disney, GI Joe, Flintstones, etc.) as well and spent many hours clicking through the reels. The one I always wanted but never got was the Dr. Strange reels. I always keep an eye out for that one when I go to shows, but I would have to buy a viewer again if I ever found it.

-M

[enyawd72]

Wow that brings back great memories!

[EmergencyIan]

I had one of the barrels, as well. I have no idea what reels were in it. I was really young. Must have received it around the same time I got the talking view-master.

- Ian

[Mikey]

I had a talking viewmaster --- it was blue and was about the size of a drive-in movie speaker

[johnnystorm]

I remember those displays for sure. I have a collection of viewmaster reels, I pick them up whenever I see them at flea markets or antique malls. The earlier ones where they posed the sculpted figurines of the cartoon characters are my favorites. So much detail in them!
I also enjoy the vintage travel reels, especially of places that no longer exist or have changed so much. I have a great 60s set of Santa Claus Village, and some Storybook land amusement attractions. And I have a set of 50s reels of a farm family home photos- back in the day you could send in your personal photos and have them put on reels. So I don't have any clue who the family in these b/w 3-d pictures are, nor do I know where it was taken. No info was written on the reels, but they're nice 50s Americana of kids playing, grandparents gardening, a family picnic. Nice stuff.
What I'd really like to come across is some doctor or dentist training reels. They actually photographed operations and procedures to use as teaching aids on viewmasters. Another one I'm looking for are salesman reels that were created for sales reps to show product. Not sure though what products they were used on, I assume cars or appliances.