View-Master^® Single Reel Variations

This page gives some additional information about certain reels or scenes.

Reel 27, variety 19, no copyright year
According to Brad and Julie Welsch scenes 1 to 5 in variety 19 of this reel should differ. Because of the fact that I only have one variation of this reel I took a picture of those five frames but don't know what the variations look like. If at some time I can get a hold of the other variation I will list the opposite variations.

Reel 30, variety 56, copyright year 1948
This realy is a strange variation. The first scene has the same discription, but different pictures. After that scene 2 to 6 all differ in descriptions, but scene 2 on one reel is the same as scene 3 on the other. Scene 3 on the first reel is the same as scene 4 on the second... and so on. The only scene thats exactly the same on both reels is scene 7.

Reel 36, variety 19 and 53, no copyright year
From scene #5 on both reel varieties 19 and 53 the same variation is known. One has scene #5 "Angel's Window", the other scene #5 "Bambi".

Reel 48, variety HL 14, no copyright year
All scenes have different pictures, but only 2 scenes have a different title. "Logan Pass Summit" instead of "Logan Pass Summit Mount Clements" and "Going to the Sun Highway" instead of "Crystal Point Going to the Sun Highway".

The left reel contains the left pictures on the variation page, the right reel the pictures on the right of course. There is also a combination known where the titles mentioned above on the left reel are combined with the pictures on the right. (source 4.)

Reel 69, variety 57, copyright 1951
These two scenes almost look the same. Sometimes the scenes are the same but are positioned a bit different within the frame. When you look very close you'll see that the one with the stone rim in front is a somewhat more distant picture than the one without the stone rim.

Reel 96, hand lettered variety 14, no copyright year
There seems to be at least three different reels with a combination of the different scenes for "North From the Lookout on Otter Crest" and "Heceta Head Lighthouse Near Sea Lion Cave". Possibly there is a fourth combination, but that isn't recorded yet.

Reel 141, hand lettered variety 14, no copyright year
Apart from the different pictures on the two reels there is also a variation on a scene description.

On the left reel there is a scene called "Court of the Patriarchs". The same scene with an identical picture is called "The Three Patriarchs" on the other reel. The left reel contains the pictures on the left side on the "Pictures" page.
Another remarkable fact is that on the first reel the scene called "From the Portals of the Tunnel" contains exactly the same picture as the scene called "The Road to Zion" on the other reel. It seems to me that the wrong picture is inserted in the left reel.

Reel 201, variety 19 and 53, no copyright years
It is not clear to me if both variations "The Pleasure Pier from the Beach" and "The Beach at Avalon" exist for both the varieties. The variation is mentioned by Brad and Julie Welsch in their book, but I don't understand if they mean that this is a variation between the varieties or that this variation exist within each variety. Since I've only got one reel of each variety (with the different scene) I cannot tell.

Reel 220, hand lettered white variety 12, no copyright year
It's questionable if a hand lettered white variety 12 reel exists with the house of Bing Crosby. Brad & Julie Welsch mention it in their book, but they. also mention a variety 1 reel for this variation. As far as I know there is only a variety 1 reel with the "Bing Crosby's home" scene on it. So that's the picture I've put on the picture page.

Reel 289, variety 19, no copyright year
This isn't really a variation in scenes. It is the same picture but scene #2 "Yucca "The Lord's Candlestick" is mounted as a mirror image on one reel.

Reel 316 and 317, variety 57 and 78, all copyright 1948
The reel variations described and photographed on reel 316 and 317 aren't variations within exactly the same variety. In both cases the variations are between variety 57 and 78. Still I have listed them. This because of the fact that there is only a very small difference between the two varieties. A lot of people will miss it unless noted.

The reel on the left, variety 57, is only missing the © symbol before the word 'copyright' and the font-variety of the 3 copyright lines is somewhat different.

Reel 370, variety 57, copyright 1951
There are three different scene titles on scene #7. "Will Rogers Statue at Claremore", "Civic Center Tulsa" and "Civic Center Oklahoma City". The first scene also has a different picture, but the last two are exactly the same. "Civic Center Tulsa" was issued first but this title was an error. The picture was really made in Oklahoma City.

Reel 406 and 407, variety 57, copyright 1953
These reels only differ in the description of the scenes mentioned. There is no variation in the pictures in these frames. Reel #406 scene #4 "Long Live Queen Elizabeth" with and without '(Non-stereo Picture)'. Reel #407 scene #6 "Queen Elizabeth & Ladies - in - Waiting" and #7 "The Queen & the Duke of Eddinburgh" with and without 'Photo by Cecil Beaton'.

Reel 1040, variety 116, copyright 1948
The variation on this reel number comprises 3 different pictures, 3 scenes are shifted in number and only one scene (#7) is the same on both reels. In this way allmost the complete reel looks different from the other.

Reel 1301, variety 57, copyright 1950
Although the title of scene #7 of both reels would give the expectation that the pictures are different, this variation is only in title. The pictures are the same in both reels.

Reel 1625, variety 116, copyright 1955
This isn't really a variation, I think it is more like an error made while mounting the frames inside the reel. On one reel the pictures of scene #4 and #5 are trans positioned.

Reel 1850, variety 116 and 124, both copyright 1955
The reel variation described and photographed on reel 1850 isn't a variation within exactly the same variety. In this case the variation is between variety 116 and 124. Still I have listed them. This because of the fact that there is only a small difference between the two varieties.

The reel on the right, variety 124, is missing the four lines to the right of the center hole. Except from that the varieties are the same.

Reel 2013, variety 116 and 124, both copyright 1955
Like above mentioned on reel #1850 this is also about two different varieties. I still like to mention it, because with the titles of scene #1 on both reels, "Vitznau" and "Weggis" respectively, you would expect different pictures. They are on the other hand identical.

Reel 5020, variety 57, copyright 1950
While scenes #1 and #2 are exactly the same, all other scenes on the first reel are more close-up then the scenes on the second reel.

Reel SP-9037, variety 57, copyright 1949
Besides the variation in (the title?) of scene #5 described by Brad and Julie Welsch there is also a variation found within the picture of scene #6. The reels with this variation both have the title "The famous green benches" on scene #5.

Reel DRE-23 Wedding of Jules Gautot, typeset w/o © (gaf, Belgian issue)
This reel shows seven pictures taken at the wedding of Jules Gautot, who was product manager for View-Master at the end of the 1950's into the early 1960's, and again since 1979 until 1988. Jules Gautot is also the man who is dining in the Atomium on reel 1994. Reel looks like a green reel mount (however, pictures were mounted with the View-Master mounting machine), and the reel was issued as "sample reel". The plant people wrote the number DRE-23 on the front side of the reel. (8.)