The VistaScreen Co Ltd was a stereographic photography outfit launched in the late 1950s by Jack & Jeff Spring, who, at the time, owned a paper merchanting company called Capital Paper Company, and Stanley Long, a former RAF photographer. Long shot the vast majority of the stereo images, mostly using a 1920s Franke & Heidecke Heidoscop stereo camera with a 6×13 cm plate back.[1] The VistaScreen viewers were manufactured in ivory-colored plastic and were designed to fold flat to be able to be compactly stored.
The viewers were priced at 1/6d (around 7.5p in today’s terms). The 3D experience given by these viewers was astonishing for the time at which they were invented, whereas more discriminating collectors favoured the use of higher quality viewers such as those produced by Raumbild. Picture cards were supplied in boxed booklets, with each series containing 10 cards. The individual series packets cost 2/6d (around 12.5p today).
The card packets were marketed at souvenir booths at various locations photographed,[3] and most were also available through mail-order. In some instances, two sets would be taken on a given day – one exclusive to the venue, and one that was marketed to the general public through supply lists included with each new set. The number of series released is unknown, though it is known to be in excess of 300 10-card sets over the 5-year lifespan of the company.
