Slide viewer

Slide viewer with mains connection

View-Master Model E from the 1950s

A slide viewer is a simple optical device for enlarged direct viewing of slides .

In the simple design with the use of ambient light, the slide viewer is colloquially also called “ Gucki ”, but this was originally a product name from Agfa, which became a generic name (synonym for similar articles). As a rule, these are light plastic housings that are equipped with a front eyepiece lens and a large, white matt rear wall (diffuser) for the incidence of light . They are used in particular for rapid optical quality control.

Somewhat more elaborate designs consist of a more or less large, angular magnifying glass, a matt screen made of glass or plastic, through which diffuse artificial light from an incandescent lamp integrated in the rear of the housing falls on the slide that can be inserted using the slide carriage. The slide viewer serves as a substitute if a presentation with the slide projector is not possible or seems too cumbersome.

Stereo slide viewer

Special slide viewers with two lenses can be used for viewing stereo photographs. The best known is the view master . It was created around 1939 as an entertainment system for the home. At that time it represented an improvement on the common stereoscopes , in which a new photo card had to be inserted to view the next image. The thematic focus of the pictures were travel destinations and scientific documentation. Special stereo cameras and blank image discs were also available , with which you could take your own photos for the View-Master. The picture disks, which were initially sold individually, were put together in series with usually three disks from the beginning of the 1950s.

The Tru-Vue system that existed at the same time owned the rights to Walt Disney productions. With the takeover of Tru-Vue by View-Master in 1951, Disney films could also be marketed and the Tru-Vue system was discontinued.

In the GDR there was the Stereomat system .

In 1966 View-Master was taken over by General Aniline & Film Corporation (GAF). Then the focus of the picture series changed to adaptations of well-known feature films, cartoons and comics. In 1981 the View-Master was bought up again and renamed the View-Master International Group , which was taken over by Ideal Toys in 1984 and was now called the View-Master Ideal Group . In 1989, Tyco took over this company and merged with Mattel in 1997 , where the View-Master can now be found in the Fisher-Price toy range .