Take a 1955 tour of the USA
View-Master's Vacationland Series provided a glimpse into every state and then some.
In the early-1950s, View-Master endeavored to create a packet for every state in the nation — a total of 48 at the time.
Each packet included colorful packaging, three reels (each in individual sleeves), a booklet about the state, and some promotional element (such as a packet list to let buyers know what other titles were available, as pictured in the photo above).
I’ve been working on collecting them all, and I finally finished my collection last year. Here they are:
One of my favorite things about these packets are the sidebars on the front detailing some of what you will find inside.
There are also variations to be had within a given packet, from the reels, which were continuously updated over time, to the packets themselves (sometimes found in different background colors, for example).
While the contents of every packet is different there are some key consistencies: a photo of the state’s capitol, key landmarks, important industries, and seasonal activities (beaches/mountains, etc.).
The state packets in this style were being created and available from (roughly) 1955 to 1959.
Obviously, some of the packets in my collection are in better shape than others. I’ll obviously swap out better copies to upgrade mine as I come across them.
Three titles fit in but not quite with the state packets: Washington, D.C., Alaska and Hawaii.
In those cases: Washington, D.C. was available and I consider it part of the series. Alaska had a packet (pictured above) before Alaska was officially part of the states. It did not come with a booklet, however, until it became a state.
Hawaii was already a popular destination, a place that Americans had romanticized as a dreamy vacation spot. There are many Hawaii reels and packets dating back to View-Master’s earliest days. However, it wasn’t until 1959 when Hawaii was finally made a state that there was a Hawaii state packet. The one pictured above was the first iteration of this (Alaska was given a similar treatment with a “50th state” packet the same year). The packet is in the S4 style (the bubble in the top right features “State Guide Series” and A120—the packet number). The sidebar of highlights is replaced with a blurb in this version: “A photographic coverage of our new island state, showing its people, natural wonders, industries and recreations.”
One curious variant exists for Michigan. The earliest version of this packet style featured a line drawing instead of a photograph (known as a S3D—Sawyer’s version 3 packet, with a Drawn cover). So far as I know, Michigan is the only state to have a drawn cover as pictured above. Alaska had one but it was issued well before Alaska became a state.
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Great! Now that you have finished the S3s, you can always work on getting the S4s besides Hawaii. Or maybe you already have them also.