Vintage Sawyer’s View-Master Model B (Broken Clasp), 1940s, and 10 Reels

This bakelite stereoscope View-Master (a National Toy Hall of Fame collector’s piece) does have signs of past use, the most important that the clip which keeps the machine shut during viewing broke off decades ago. It still works however (one need just be mindful of the need to hold the case closed). The eye cups are in place and not warped, a problem with some vintage Model B units.
 
How to use: To use a vintage View-Master Model B, open the viewer's clamshell, place a View-Master reel inside, close the viewer, and then look through it while facing a light source to view the stereoscopic 3D images. You can advance the images by turning the small lever on the side to rotate the reel and align the next pair of photographs for your eyes.
 
For collectors:
 
 
Early single scenic reels included:
21 Crater Lake Nat’l Park, Oregon, USA
42 Grand Teton Nat’l Park, Wyo.46 Glacier Nat’l Park, Montana
65 Island of Hawaii, Hawaii Kona Side
296 St. Louis Zoological Park, Missouri
318 Banff Nat’l Park, Alberta, Canada
504 Taxco, Mexico
553 Antigua and Lake Atitlan, Guatemala
612 Rural Life in Ecuador
642 Valparaiso and Vina del Mar, Chile
 
Numbers do not indicate dates as systems changed. However, we were able to confirm most of ours are from the 1940s or earlier. Four of our reels are cream colored, suggesting they predate 1946. Five are white with hand lettered titles, suggesting they are from the mid 1940s. One is white with typeset lettering and numbered scenes, which dates it to the late 1940s onward.
 
The reels do not include cover slips but appear in good condition (some tested in the machine, all held up to light to check for damage).
 
For history buffs: 
 
The View-Master was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 1999.  The view master was first introduced at the New York World's Fair (1939-1940.) Made by Sawyer's Photo Services, the device showed stereoscopic three-dimensional pictures. 
Originally intended as an educational device for adults and marketed to tourist attractions, the view master found an adult market in the US military for training and then became a popular children's toy after Sawyer’s bought its competitor who had rights to all Disney characters. 
 
The View-Master Model B was produced from 1944 to 1947. It was the second viewer model introduced by Sawyer's and was known for its clamshell-style body, similar to the first Model A. Unlike the Model A, which was made of Kodak Tenite plastic that was prone to warping, the Model B was made of sturdy bakelite.