Some fun facts about 3D and View-Master:

  • In 1838 Charles Wheatstone and Fox Talbot worked together on stereo photography, which enabled pairs of identical images to be combined and viewed in 3D with glasses.
  • Stereograph

  • The first 3D on film was in 1915, with three short one-reel films. The first 3D feature film was made in 1922, and called Power of Love.
  • The only 3D feature to have spawned a sequel also shot in 3D, was the Creature from the Black Lagoon after Revenge of the Creature was released in 1955. The film also happened to offer a certain Clint Eastwood his first screen role as an uncredited lab technician.
  • anaglyph glasses

  • The silver screen is more than a glitzy metaphor for the cinema. 3D films viewed with passive glasses must be projected onto a silver painted screen. The technique involves using polarized light to create the 3D effect and only a silver screen is good enough to reflect the film image back without losing that polarization.
  • William Gruber, an organ maker from Portland, Oregon, invented the View-Master. While visiting the Oregon Caves, he met Harold Graves, the president of Sawyer's, Inc. His company specialized in picture post cards. Together, they created the successful company that exists today.
  • Red View-Master_Model_G

  • During World War II, View-Master produced millions of reels for the U.S. Government that aided the military in airplane & ship identification and range estimation.

  • For more fun facts check out these websites:

  • Pocket-Lint
  • How It Works
  • Thrillscape
  • Also, don't forget to take the fun View-Master quiz to test your knowledge and learn some things you may not have known.