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Charles Harrison, 87, Designer Who Reshaped the View-Master, Dies
New York Times ^
| December 3, 2018
| Katharine Q. Seelye
Posted on 12/08/2018 11:21:38 AM PST by SFmom
Charles Harrison, an industrial designer who rethought hundreds of ordinary items, including a plastic trash bin on wheels, a see-through measuring cup and the 3-D View-Master, which were then snapped up by the nations burgeoning postwar middle class, died on Nov. 29 in Santa Clarita, Calif. He was 87.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; US: California
KEYWORDS: designer; dyslexic; garbagecan; viewfinder
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To: SFmom
Did he die at work in the Pawn Shop?
21
posted on
12/08/2018 12:14:25 PM PST
by
Kickass Conservative
(Democracy, two Wolves and one Sheep deciding what's for Dinner.)
To: Cecily
I had the 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea set. The giant octopus was awesome!
22
posted on
12/08/2018 12:17:52 PM PST
by
Fresh Wind
(Trump: "In the meantime, I'm president and you're not!")
To: SFmom
I had an aunt that served a 30 year career as an Army Nurse spanning WWII, Korea and Viet Nam. When she retired in 1971, she bought a a house in Alexandria, VA so she could be (relatively) near Walter Reed to tend to some health concerns. One of the first gifts from her that I remember was a View Master including a wheel of "Our Nation's Capital." How filled with pride I was to marvel at the night shots of the Capital dome, the cherry trees in full bloom and the Jefferson Memorial. Even at that very young age my heart swelled with patriotism when I heard the phrase, "Washington D.C.."
Nowadays, that phrase engenders no such feelings. I have the memories of that View Master wheel, and God bless you for those Mr. Harrison, but cursed be those who so corrupted my thoughts about that once beautiful city.
23
posted on
12/08/2018 12:18:29 PM PST
by
Joe 6-pack
(Qui me amat, amat et canem meum.)
To: dfwgator
You got to be a certain age to know that Sandy Duncan lost vision in one eye.
Mention BHM & I recall Richard Pryor: “Did anyone notice that when they finally gave us a month of our own, that it’s the shortest month of the year?”
Anyway, I’ve often wondered why Playboy magazine didn’t come up with a Viewmaster centerfold.
24
posted on
12/08/2018 12:21:17 PM PST
by
elcid1970
(My gun safe is saying, "Room for one more, honey!")
To: Born to Conserve
Did you take it out of the box first before trying to use it?
To: elcid1970
To: Joe 6-pack
A good friend of mine's grandmother worked for the OSS as a driver in London during WWII.
She had a house in Alexandria, VA, probably about the same period. I and her grandson went there to help with clearing up her estate a few years ago.
A local lawyer "friend" convinced her to make him her executor. She left her entire estate to her grandson. The executor played the estate like a fiddle. After nearly three years of litigation, the grandson ended up with about 100K out of 500K. The lawyer got the rest.
The Virginia Bar investigated and reprimanded the lawyer, said he was unethical. In the end, nothing was done to punish the lawyer, and the lawyer kept the money.
Nothing to do with a viewmaster, but your reminiscence led to mine.
27
posted on
12/08/2018 12:29:00 PM PST
by
marktwain
(President Trump and his supporters are the Resistance. His opponents are the Reactionaries.)
To: luvbach1
The key is “reshaped.” There were various models of the View-Master for 20 years before Harrison’s version came out. It was the one most Baby Boomers knew and the View-Master has been most associated with that generation.
28
posted on
12/08/2018 12:35:50 PM PST
by
x
To: Fresh Wind
That’s the one we had, exactly. Wonder what happened to it.
To: x
I’m pre-baby boomer and I had a Viewmaster.
30
posted on
12/08/2018 1:05:00 PM PST
by
luvbach1
(I hope Trump runs roughshod over the inevitable obstuctionists, Dems, progs, libs, or RINOs!)
To: SFmom
“Charles Harrison, an industrial designer...”
Wonder if he was any relation to Charles Manson?
31
posted on
12/08/2018 1:10:49 PM PST
by
Beagle8U
(Beto went to Liz Warren's genealogist to prove that he was 1/1000 Hispanic.)
To: SFmom
I think I have two of them in the basement. One was mine or my brother’s (we had identical GAF’s), and one is a bit older and belonged to a friend of my father’s named “Frenchie”, a bartender and (I believe) WWI vet whom my father looked in on every day when I was a kid.
32
posted on
12/08/2018 1:22:51 PM PST
by
Tanniker Smith
(Rome didn't fall in a day, either.)
To: SFmom
I have one word for you, Mr. Harrison: “plastics.” And you listened!!!
33
posted on
12/08/2018 1:25:27 PM PST
by
NonValueAdded
(#DeplorableMe #BitterClinger #HillNO! #cishet #MyPresident #MAGA #Winning #covfefe)
To: luvbach1
I had the talking View Master growing up and quite the collection of reels. I believe I had a "Call of the Wild" set of reels and there was something like 164 reels in the set. Seeing Buck and Spitz fight in the moonlight on a frigid landscape was quite something.
To: Born to Conserve
horribly uncomfortable...
Agreed. Those sharp rectangular edges where there should be a soft contour fit won't win any comfort/ergonomics awards. Like binoculars designed by a sadist.
35
posted on
12/08/2018 2:31:33 PM PST
by
SpaceBar
To: SFmom
36
posted on
12/08/2018 2:38:24 PM PST
by
fieldmarshaldj
("It's Slappin' Time !")
To: SFmom
Exactly like mine, down to the color. Still exists in the family home, I'm sure. I don't remember having comfort issues.
37
posted on
12/08/2018 6:53:00 PM PST
by
ExGeeEye
(For dark is the suede that mows like a harvest.)
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