William B Gruber arrived in the United States with $150 in his pocket. In the book, “View Master, The Biography of William B Gruber”, his daughter Gretchen J Gruber lovingly shares the story of an immigrant who lived through difficult times in Germany, and then used his training, imagination, work ethic, and love of the outdoors to make himself a true American success story. William Gruber was a hardworking family man who did not let his past hold him back. In this way, he was a lot like my own father, and perhaps that’s why this book pulled me in. While you may never have heard of him, you’ve heard of his invention, and maybe still have one in the attic. William Gruber invented the Viewmaster, a new way to look at the world.
From Germany to America
Willi Gruber was born in 1903 in Munich and was 11 when WWI broke out. Because he was a small boy, he wasn’t suited to apprentice in the family business of blacksmithing. Instead, he found a place with a Piano builder. Life in Germany between the wars was difficult. Food shortages and inflation meant that you had to be resourceful to avoid going hungry. And Willi was a resourceful boy. Still, he was caught up by the Red Army, escaped, and later joined the National Socialist party, as many others did at the time, because he believed that Hitler would fix Germany’s problems.
His skilled hands and perfect pitch meant he excelled in his trade, in piano and organ repair, so well that he found a position in America. He sailed from Hamburg in 1924 and made it all the way to the West Coast on his last dime.
Despite the distance, he remained in close contact with his family in Germany. The book contains excerpts of letters that relate to life in Germany from the late 1920s to the late 1930s. William Gruber made no secret of his belief that Hitler would pull Germany out of the hole it had landed in after WWI and bring it back to greatness. These feelings would change over time, but they would come back to haunt him and his family when he was brought to the FBI’s attention during WWII.
The View Master Inventor
Working with pianos and organs might have been his trade, but his first loves were photography and the outdoors. As a young man, he spent much time hiking in the Alps whenever he could. And now in the United States, he hiked the mountains in Oregon. He was constantly photographing the beauty around him and seeking ways to enhance his images.
The concept of viewing images in “stereo” for depth perception was not new. But Willi came up with a way to rotate the pictures on a disk in a special viewer. This invention was revolutionary! As a child, I had a Viewmaster of my own. However, it was a later version, made of plastic, and my disks featured Disney films or animals. I had no idea about the history behind this window to the world. Willi Gruber’s Viewmaster was designed for much more.
The first major series contained images of Alpine Wildflowers. Nothing like this had ever been done before —a thorough documentation of wildflowers in their habitat. Companies saw use for this style of image in the education market. The largest project: Anatomy lessons featuring hundreds of images for medical school students. In 3-D! It was revolutionary! The View Master took off like a rocket! (like the rockets you could later see with your View Master!) Mushrooms, mountains, animals, and children’s stories. If it could be photographed, it could be photographed with a special 3-D camera and seen by anyone who had a viewer.
Family Man
Reading about William Gruber may be familiar to anyone who grew up with a German father. He worked hard, and his expectations were strict. His wife, children, parents, extended family, and home were the center of his world. Letters exchanged between Germany and America show that the connections there remained strong.
“View Master The Biography of William B Gruber” is the story of an Immigrant’s success in the United States. Gretchen Gruber gives us a peek into her father’s world, warts and all. Her father lived life to the fullest. Along the way, he photographed important people and events, creating a lasting legacy for science. Like most successful people, he worked hard, played hard, never slowed down, and never let things get in his way when he could work through them.
And he left us all with an amazing new way to view the world.
Gretchen Gruber is hoping to have a documentary made about her father. Watch this page for more information!
Order View Master HERE
View Masters and Discs
Remember how much fun this was? You can still enjoy the Viewmaster with new images!
Classic View-Master – Metallic Viewfinder With 2 Reels Included – STEM, Retro, Nature Learning Toy for Kids and Adults, Toddlers, Ages 3+
WARM FUZZY Toys 3D Viewfinder (Space) – Viewfinder for Kids & Adults, Classic Toys, Slide Viewer, 3D Reel Viewer, Retro, Vintage Toys with 3 Reels – Contains 21 High Definition 3D ImagesArtCreativity 3D Viewer for Kids with 6 Reels, Reel Viewer with 42 HD Images – Dinosaurs, Animals, Space & More – Vibrant Viewfinder Toy for Kids – Great Fun Gift IdeaView Master Discovery Kids Marine LifeView Master Boxed Set
ViewMaster – Elmo Wants to Play – Sesame Street – 3 Reels on Card
I love View-Master! I have a whole collection of them, and of other 3-D viewers like a stereoscope, Tru-Vue, and others. One of the displays I would periodically set up in my school library was 3-D viewing, and I set out some View-Masters and reels for the children. They may have all those sophisticated electronic toys to play with, but they loved looking at these. (Also when I did other displays manual typewriters and dial telephones fascinated them). (Oh, speaking of phones, remember those grey German telephones? Have you seen this: https://jeanluc.cornec.de/arbeiten/tribut/ )
that’s fabulous!
I know Gretchen would be happy to hear her Father’s invention brought you so much joy
Inspired by reading this (and by buying some old View-Masters and reels at an auction), I looked to see what was new in the View-Master world. There didn’t seem to be anything going on so I wrote to Mattel to ask what was going on. I was disappointed (and frothing at the mouth furious) to discover that they have completely discontinued producing View-Master. I sent them a fairly tart note pointing out that children still love low-tech toys, and also that perhaps the View-Masters and reels would have sold better if they had bothered to produce a bunch of new reels and do some advertising.
The tourist reels were stopped years ago, which I thought was a terrible shame, because they are such a great way to remember historic places and events. Fortunately, I can still buy old ones, but what a rotten shame it is. I wish I had the money to buy the rights and start making the View-Masters and reels again.
I need to connect you with Gretchen, she wrote the book about her father.
Maybe she can help you find old reels?