Here’s a new twist on an old toy — Wurlington Bros. Press has created three new reels for the old View-Master devices, including one for Route 66 in Chicago.
The View-Master device, which looked like some sort of portable gizmo an eye doctor would use, created a three-dimensional effect on photographs, and were popular children’s toys during the 1960s and ’70s.
Van Beydler, creator of the Route 66 reel who hatched the idea of a Route 66 reel years ago, tells more about the Route 66 View-Master reel in a news release:
“Many years ago, I worked with the late Skip Curtis, author of The Missouri U.S. 66 Tour Book, giving him several rare photos of Route 66 to use in a special edition of Show Me Route 66 Magazine,” said Beydler. “At the time, I suggested the Route 66 Association should do a series of Route 66 View-Master® reels to document the classic structures still existing on the road.”
That project never materialized, but Wurlington Bros. Press has taken the first step in the long journey down “America’s Highway” by producing a reel titled “Route 66 in Chicago.”
The most famous highway in America starts in the center of Chicago. For over 2,400 miles it winds west through little towns, plains, mountains and deserts, all the way to Los Angeles, California.
The first few miles of the journey zigzag down busy streets of Chicago. Here and there are old roadside businesses dating from the picturesque days of auto tourism along the Mother Road.
The other two View-Master reels are Motels of Wurlington Avenue” and “Chicago Hot Dog Stands.”
Each reel costs $10, plus $1.75 for shipping and handling if you order direct from the manufacturer. Details to order the reels are here at the Wurlington Bros. site.
Matt Bergstrom of Wurlington Bros. Press said in an e-mail that the reel also is available at Amazon.com here. He said Amazon has it erroneously listed as out of stock. He hopes that problem will be rectified shortly.
If you don’t have your own View-Master, you can buy one here, at eBay or plenty of other online retailers.
The question is… are these images actually in 3D? Or are they just “fake 3D” applied to flat photographs (as a View-Master fan, I’m curious)
Good question. I would hate to spend $11.75 and get a 2D VM.
An answer to your question: yes the photos are real 3D, taken with twinned cameras or a single camera and slide platform. The photos were taken in 2008 and 2009. Each packet also includes a little booklet with a map and explanation of the photos.