Chakka-Chhh: The Hidden History of View-Master

(via mental_floss) Had it not been for the FBI informant working at Chase Bank, William Gruber might have been able to enjoy his success. It was 1939, and the German immigrant’s chance meeting with an employee of Sawyer’s postcard company in Portland, Oregon had recently netted an important business deal: Sawyer’s was interested in mass-producing Gruber’s View-Master, a portable stereo photography viewer that used a separate image for each eye to create a 3D effect. Held up to a light source, the reels created an immersive still picture.