While exploring a neighborhood thrift shop with my daughter we found an old View-Master viewer. She thought it was binoculars. Having one as a kid I splurged the buck fifty cost on the item (I did already have some old reals in my possession). Bringing it home and trying it out reminded me that his was really my first exposure to 3D, something I have equated to the original “virtual reality”. Its a simple principle, basically same as an old stereo viewer but looking through transparency lit by a diffused opening in the back.
Daddy, are these binoculars?
This got me thinking, would it be possible to create 3D anaglyph images from View-Master reels? I’ll explore that later, but I just want to mention that View Master is or actually was a local company. They were manufactured here in Portland, and later in Beaverton for decades. I looked back into the dusty cobwebs of my mind to try to remember the View-Master factory. They had a water tower, and if I recall correctly it was by Washington Square Mall. I only found this one picture of the tower on the internet:
