Mini Copper Zoetrope

Also known as a Magic Drum or Wheel of Life, this instrument of optical illusion consists of an open-top cylinder with 11 to 13 slits in which you can place strips with sequential images. If you spin the drum around its axis and look through the slits, your brain will register the still images as movement. If the number of sequential images is higher or lower than that of slits, the character will appear to move forwards or backwards, respectively. It was in 1834 that William George Horner first wrote about the zoetrope in Europe, yet it became popular only from the 1860. Then, however, it was also used with photo strips for scientific purposes. Its vertical version, the tachyscope or Schnellseher represented a further step towards the operating principle of motion picture projectors, conquering railway stations as a coin-operated machine.

Elegant copper zoetrope with 7 sequences in a decorative red box.

Diameter: 12 cm Height: 17 cm