Thanks to the internet I've been able to track down who did these wonderful pieces. Most were done by Florence Thomas and later her successor Joe Liptak, whom I've mentioned before on this blog
Thomas produced her first reels for View-Master in 1946 --a series of Fairy Tales and Mother Goose rhymes that are still in circulation. According to one source, Thomas "developed special methods of close-up stereo photography and modeling which is now in common use by major motion picture studios" (John Waldsmith, Stereo Views, 1991).
A scene from "Robin Hood"
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| Joe Liptak |
I found a pretty good tribute to Florence at the blog Mystery Hoard and you can find it here: http://frequential.blogspot.com/2008/04/unsung-geniuses-florence-thomas-of.html
Looking at the size of the candle flame and the scale of what appear to be real feathers in Captain Hooks hat, and the detail on Tinkerbell, it must have been a fairly large setup. It's pretty obvious now but I never gave it much thought as a kid.
It seems appropriate that these were clay figurines and done in Portland Oregon just like Will Vintons' Claymation.
UPDATE: A woman names Linda asked if there were other photos of her relative Florence Thomas. I was able to find these:
UPDATE!
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I just found your blog, “View-Master Artists” (dated Nov 19, 2012) this evening and want to kindly inform you that the last 5 “updated” photos you posted is NOT Florence Thomas. Instead, the artist is Martha Armstrong Hand. I personally knew her in the mid 1990’s until her passing in 2004. For your reference, here are a couple of links in tribute to Martha.
https://www.niada.org/portfolio/martha-armstrong-hand/
https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/latimes/obituary.aspx?n=martha-armstrong-hand&pid=2744926
Thank you in advance for making the correction.
Lori, August 23, 2020
9 comments:
Wow! Thanks for finding this! I love these view-master figures, especially when they're made from cartoons like the Disney or HB ones.
I do too. There are still some tricks I haven't figured out like suspending things in mid air. The Peter Pan one has this cool light contrail Tinkerbell makes that is like a light streak. Very cool.
I realize this blog is 5 years old, but I'm wondering if it is possible to get a copy of Florence's photo to put in my family tree. Florence was my father's first cousin; I met her in Oregon in 1962. She never married and as my generation dies off I would like to preserve her memory. I don't have any of her artwork, but I do have an envelope she decorated when she mailed a card to my aunt.
Linda Schrom
Hi Lindy, I did find some younger pictures of Florence by Googling Florence Thomas Viewmaster and looking at the images here:
https://www.google.com/search?q=Florence+Thomas+Viewmaster&client=firefox-b-1&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjnj7aI5pzbAhU6FjQIHXPuD6AQ_AUICigB&biw=1920&bih=1086#imgrc=AMrvgFgIcXjHOM:
And here:
http://blanol.ch/Images/3D/ViewMaster/View-Master.Making.of_01.jpg
I hope this was helpful and thanks for looking into my site!
I just found your blog, “View-Master Artists” (dated Nov 19, 2012) this evening and want to kindly inform you that the last 5 “updated” photos you posted is NOT Florence Thomas. Instead, the artist is Martha Armstrong Hand. I personally knew her in the mid 1990’s until her passing in 2004. For your reference, here are a couple of links in tribute to Martha.
https://www.niada.org/portfolio/martha-armstrong-hand/
https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/latimes/obituary.aspx?n=martha-armstrong-hand&pid=2744926
Thank you in advance for making the correction.
Lori, August 23, 2020
Thank you Lori, for the update about Martha Armstrong Hand. Unfortunally my info came from other sources who apparently were incorrect. I did add your comments to this posting and your links connecting Martha as the artist. Perhaps there were two women artists who work for View Masters? Thanks again for the inf and taking a look at my blog!
As a child the View Master 3D sculptures of familiar cartoons (Quick Draw McGraw, Woody Woodpecker etc.) were pure magic and burned in memory. I recently saw on Google, a slide of Woody Woodpecker's Pony Express that I haven't seen in 58 yrs and recognized it almost instantly...unreal. Is it Mattel now who owns VM...they should bring back the classic Sawyers model G and Joe Liptak reels as a collector series.
Researching Florence - Hi Lindy, I’m researching the VM artists for a book I’m working on with Disney Archives. I’m looking for family members who may have stories, photos, anything that will help tell the artists stories and preserve their legacy. Would you be willing to speak with me? My personal email is toddpopp1964@icloud.com Thank you!
Hi Linda, I’m researching the VM artists for a book I’m working on with Disney Archives. I’m looking to speak with family members to find stories, photos, anything no matter how small that will help preserve their legacy. If you would be willing to speak with me, my email is toddpopp1964@icloud.com. Thank you!
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