A View-Master Christmas Rarity

What's the hardest-to-find Christmas View-Master reel?

This week, I wanted to highlight one of my favorite View-Master Christmas things. It’s single reel FT-29, The Night Before Christmas, sculpted by Joe Liptak, originally for Tru-Vue. View-Master acquired Tru-Vue and gave this reel a limited release way back in in 1955. I’m not entirely sure why the release was limited, but the other version of this reel, FT-30, is also called The Night Before Christmas but features completely different scenes (that were sculpted by Florence Thomas).

My copy came in the original packaging. It is the only one I’ve seen ever offered on eBay that had the original packaging.

FT-30, however, is extremely common. There is a rare variant of that reel that features red and green ink on the front instead of classic black, but the scenes are the same in both versions!

In my experience in View-Master collecting communities, very few people understand that FT-29 is a rare reel. It is by far the rarest of the FT (or Fairy Tale) reels. And it is certainly the rarest of Christmas-themed reels.

And, honestly, I tell new collectors that rare reels are overrated. They are usually rare because they didn’t sell very well and have boring photos! This isn’t always the case, of course, but, in my opinion, FT-29 is among the best rare reels in terms of content.

What makes this one so special? It’s the sculpted scenes from Joe Liptak! Not only are they charming, but this is the classic tale of The Night Before Christmas told from a tiny house mouse’s point of view. Let’s take a look!

Quotes from the famous poem by Clement Clarke Moore, of course:

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there

In this version, the details are rich. The door is open with a tiny wreath on it, and you can spy the Christmas tree in the background — where the stockings are hung by the chimney with care.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads

In the reel itself, this is a clever effect. The dream is translucent to add to the floating effect.

In this scene, the little house mouse joins dad in his cap to catch Santa’s arrival.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,
With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.

So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of Toys, and St. Nicholas too.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.

Santa and the reindeer arrive on the roof, bag of toys in tow. Lots of lovely detail here, too: The charming deer have personalities, Santa is very much in the Coca-Cola fashion that became popular in the 1930s.

Side note: Is it common knowledge today that Coca-Cola ad campaigns are the basis for the version of Santa represented in pop culture today? I love that fact so much! From Coke’s own website:

In 1931 … Coca‑Cola commissioned Michigan-born illustrator Haddon Sundblom to develop advertising images using Santa Claus — showing Santa himself, not a man dressed as Santa.

For inspiration, Sundblom turned to Clement Clark Moore's 1822 poem "A Visit From St. Nicholas" (commonly called "'Twas the Night Before Christmas"). Moore's description of St. Nick led to an image of a warm, friendly, pleasantly plump and human Santa. (And even though it's often said that Santa wears a red coat because red is the color of Coca‑Cola, Santa appeared in a red coat before Sundblom painted him.)

From 1931 to 1964, Coca‑Cola advertising showed Santa delivering toys (and playing with them!), pausing to read a letter and enjoy a Coke, visiting with the children who stayed up to greet him, and raiding the refrigerators at a number of homes. The original oil paintings Sundblom created were adapted for Coca‑Cola advertising in magazines and on store displays, billboards, posters, calendars and plush dolls. Many of those items today are popular collectibles.

His eyes—how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow

And, in this version, we see the little mouse dangling from the mantle. And the I really adore the framing of the camera kind of peeking around the chair into the living room.

He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly.
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings

And now the mouse settles in on top the chair, because Santa is, of course, delighted to see him.

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle,
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night."

In this second scene of Santa and the reindeer in flight, I love the lighting and the sky in the background with a little moon and sparkling stars.

I just love this reel so much! It makes me smile every time I look at it.

Now, you might be wondering about the value? To be completely honest, I have two copies. One I got on ebay as a “buy it now” for $10 and the other I paid quite a bit more for — at least $80, as I recall. But that one included the original packaging. Because most people don’t know this is rare those that do tend to snag it cheaply from unknowing sellers. Happy hunting, if you are on the lookout for it!

Thanks for reading and please hit the ❤️ button to let me know you’re out there and following along!