Customer Reviews

Stereo Views: An Illustrated History and Price Guide

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a reference book for the 3D lover. It covers many aspects of collection from a variety of stereoviews, to tru-vue, to viewmaster and so on. There are prices listed, as well as tips about how to grade collectibles. Some of the prices are not always correct in my opinion, but I understand that they are averages and therefore are a good reference point. This book told me about other organizations that deal with 3D and it is also the book that I used to learn how to free-view 3D pictures. There are plenty of illustrations and more information conatined here - you will not be dissapointed!

This is a brand new, year 2002, 336 page book with over 3,000 detailed listings of stereo view collectibles. It has more than 500 black and white photos with a wealth of useful and interesting text on this popular collectible. Chapters include care, condition, and dates of views, evaluating views, leading photographers and publishers and much information on modern era 3-D visual collectibles, including Tru-Vue, Novelviews, View-Master, GAF and more. The volume is completely indexed for easy location of items. Very comprehensive updated value guide. This updated edition is a must for stereo view enthusiasts. Add it to your library.

There are prices listed, as well as tips about how to grade collectibles. While prices are always debatable, it is still a great reference. With more than 300 photos on a total 336 pages it is also a wonderful book to browse.

A true "must have" book for any stereo collector!

The revised edition is excellent, apart from forming a useful catalogue of stereographs to seek out, it is also a wonderful history of the many subjects photographed in 3-D over the years. I rated it at 4 stars rather than 5 because I consider the reduced content of the index to be a retrograde step. Having said that it is a 'must have' for all stereographers.

This is an excellent history of the 19th and early 20th century phenomeon "stereo views" in which two copies of a photograph were produced on a letter-sized card and viewed through a hand-held viewer to see the picture in 3-D effect. You still see these old photo cards occasionally at flea markets and antique shops and they have been avidly collected for generations although this form of entertainment died out around the 1920's. Mr. Waldsmith gives us detailed listings of many of the stereo view cards, price value, and information on many photographers. A wonderful bonus for the baby boom generation is the inclusion of the history of Viewmasters, the "updated" version of SVs a fond memory for children for over 50 years and still being issued today. Waldsmith includes a complete list of Viewmaster photo reels and packets issued up through the book's publication as well as the less popular rivals of Viewmaster in the past. Highly recommended even if you don't collect either stereo views or viewmaster reels and invaluable if you do.

i am a new collector of stereoscopic viewers and stereo view cards from winning one at an auction... and i wanted to know more about my find, and make sure that my purchase price was in range... and this book is fantastic! it is interesting reading and finding the no. of the cards and descriptions is very easy. There is even a section at the end devoted to Viewmasters... a great reference guide and detailed index to the viewmaster collector. i also purchased a 2nd copy for my friend who has collected viewmasters for years... and she can't put it down. she had no idea there were 3D viewers before the traditional viewmaster of today!! i'm very, very happy with my purchase and have made good use of it already, purchasing more viewers and reels too.

This is a "must-have" book for the serious collector of stereo views and those just now getting interested in this fascinating subject. Waldsmith really knows his stuff. Highly recommended.

-David Burkhart, author of Earthquake Days: The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake & Fire in 3-D.

Only the one fourth of the whole book is dedicated to VIEWMASTER issues the majority of which is totaly out of date.72 pages out of 272 deal with VM matters even though Viewmaster reel photos occupy a large portion of the book cover.Content reflects general information that can be easily drawn from internet with much more details.
Very poor optical content (B&W photos without any significant use).
In other words, this is a sample of a book that I will never recomend for someone to buy.
Best regards
George