Exhibition Label : Fancy Names & Fun Toys (Nov 2012 - Jan 2013) - introduction
From gigantic televisions to tiny iPods, the moving image today is all around us.
Mobile phones capture it, play it and share it digitally, while advertising hoardings have leapt firmly into the realm of science fiction, animating their once-static messages before our eyes. We may take modern video for granted, but the first steps
towards true motion pictures began with simple yet marvellous toys of optical illusion.
In the days before the earliest forms of cinema were created by the Lumière brothers in 1895, Victorian optical toys provided a charming and instructive array of moving picture demonstrations. They were often simple in design and use but their names suggested fearsome technical complexity: Phenakistiscopes, Praxinoscopes and Choreutoscopes. Yet these elaborately named devices were mass produced for a huge general audience. At the same time, scientists were delving deeper into optical phenomena, including the persistence of images on the retina, from which an illusion of movement can be obtained.
Such investigations led to a rich and visually stunning assortment of optical instruments. From the fancily namedThaumatrope to the simple Flip Book, the toys outlined in this exhibition heralded the emergence of cinema, but retained an enduring appeal long after movies hit the silver screen.
Other narratives:
- Inventory no. 78782 - Former Display Label
- History of Praxinoscope
- Exhibition Label : Fancy Names & Fun Toys (Nov 2012 - Jan 2013)
Related Objects:
- Inventory No. 59210, "Home-Made Card Thaumotrope of Cat and Dog, Early 19th Century" [1977-17/1]
- Inventory No. 63940, "Home-Made Card Thaumotrope of Horse and Rider, Early 19th Century" [1977-17/2]
- Inventory No. 19480, "'Living Photograph' Flip Book, by Gies & Co., USA, c.1897", Gies & Co
- Inventory No. 22974, "Flip Book, by T.W. Eggers, New York, 1897", Eggers, T. W.
- Inventory No. 31625, "Flip Book, by Leon Beaulieu, Paris, End 19th Century", Beaulieu, Leon
- Inventory No. 25078, "Flip Book, by La Lune Novelty Co., New York, End 19th Century/Early 20th Century", La Lune Novelty Co.
- Inventory No. 27761, "Filoscope Magazine Flip Book, by Henry W. Short, London, c.1900" [1973-22/3], Short, Henry William
- Inventory No. 96126, "Choreutoscope, England, c. 1866" [1962-109]
- Inventory No. 92648, "Kinora, by Kinora Ltd, London, Between 1898 and 1914" [1944-1/part], Kinora Ltd.
- Inventory No. 74280, "Kinora Mechanical Flip Book No. 519, by Kinora Ltd., London, Between 1898 and 1914" [1944-1/part], Kinora Ltd.
- Inventory No. 79159, "Kinora Mechanical Flip Book No. 4199, by Kinora Ltd., London, Between 1898 and 1914" [1944-1/part], Kinora Ltd.
- Inventory No. 75038, "Kinora Mechanical Flip Book No. 4249, by Kinora Ltd., London, Between 1898 and 1914" [1944-1/part], Kinora Ltd.
- Inventory No. 78782, "Praxinoscope, by Emile Reynaud, France, c.1877" [1944-1/part], Reynaud, Emile
- Inventory No. 13320, "Envelope for a Praxinoscope, France, c. 1877"
- Inventory No. 13320, "Disc for optical toy, England, Late 19th/Early 20th Century"
- Inventory No. 13320, "Disc for optical toy, England, Late 19th/Early 20th Century"
- Inventory No. 13320, "Disc for optical toy, England, Late 19th/Early 20th Century"
- Inventory No. 80585, "Zoetrope, London, c. 1867?" [1944-1/part]
- Inventory No. 56837, "Three Phenakistiscope Discs, England, Mid 19th Century"
- Inventory No. 13322, "Phenakistiscope Disc, by T. Mc Lean, England, Mid 19th Century", Mc Lean, T.
- Inventory No. 13322, "Phenakistiscope Disc, by T. Mc Lean, England, Mid 19th Century", Mc Lean, T.
- Inventory No. 13323, "Phenakistiscope Disc, England, Mid 19th Century"
- Inventory No. 13326, "Phenakistiscope Disc, England, Mid 19th Century"
- Inventory No. 89921, "Projection Phenakistiscope or Wheel of Life with Case containing additional Slide Discs , England, c. 1870" [1961-137/37 & 38], Ross, Thomas