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Blossom and DecayBLOSSOM AND DECAY
Rainbow Falls, near Hilo, Hawaii, USA. Date: 1935
University of Oxford. College of the University and Queens College. Illustration in Vues d Optique (Perspective Views). Images to be seen through a zograscope
Bald Prima Donna 20CA prima donna and her two bald-headed admirers
Mutoscope at GravesendNew Road, Gravesend (Kent) - notice the premises of The Wonderful Mutoscope (a forerunner of the cinema) - Admission Free !
Optical illusion disc with man jumping rope and a man sticking out his tongue. Date 1833
April Fool / Coats 1924April Fool: Two coats and hats on a stand, looking at first glance like a couple embracing
Optical illusion disc with somersaults and horseback riding. Date 1833
Advertisement, Thomas Harris, Opticians to the Royal FamilyAdvertisement, Thomas Harris & Son, Opticians to the Royal Family. 1841
Ghostly apparition produced by reflection. Date: 19th century
Bouquet of flowers in a stone niche, 1618, by Ambrosius BossAmbrosius Bosschaert the Elder (1573-1621). Dutch painter. Bouquet of flowers in a stone niche, 1618. National Museum of Art. Copenhagen. Denmark
Reynaud PraxinoscopeA young girl is fascinated by the illusion of movement given by Reynauds praxinoscope
CLAUDE CHAPPE 1763-1805CLAUDE CHAPPE French Engineer. Invented a telegraph system employing visual semaphore signals. With his brother, he erected signals between Paris & Lille
Heliograph used by British army in AfricaHeliograph used in the British army in Africa, probably during the Boer War (1899-1902). The heliograph is a wireless telegraph that signals by flashes of sunlight (generally using Morse code)
Edisons VitascopeThis was one of Edisons several ingenious but ultimately impracticable attempts to invent the motion picture
DECOUPAGESLight, shining through cunningly torn paper, casts grotesque shapes on the wall
Projecting PraxinoscopeReynauds praxinoscope adapted for projection onto a screen : later he would adapt it for projection in a large hall
Reynaud Praxinoscope 2Reynauds device with central lamp, drum holding the images, and a handle for turning it, giving the illusion of movement
Chappes Telegraph - 1The optical telegraph of Claude Chappe and his brother is erected on the Eglise de Montmartre, overlooking Paris
Cabaret du Neant (Cabaret of Nothingness or Death) - a ghost show cabaret, where ghosts were shown before the amazed audience via optical trickery and special effects
Trompe l oeil showing wife and mother-in-lawMY WIFE - AND MY MOTHER-IN-LAW 1915
The Magnetic Hill, Moncton, New Brunswick, CanadaThe Magnetic Hill is an example of a gravity hill, a type of optical illusion created by rising and descending terrain. It is located at the northwestern edge (in the Magnetic Hill Area)
Advert for Haig Whisky. The Haig brand name is disguised in the profile of the gentleman. Date: circa 1932
A device to teach the optical golf swing using a mirror-flashes that denote pulling and slicing. Date: 1930
A rotating zootrope : the image seen through the slits as the drum spins give the illusion of movement. Date: 1881
EDISON'S KINETOSCOPE Reproducing to the eye the effect of human motion by means of a swift and graded succession of pictures'. Date: 1894
Comic postcard, Bald head in the sea, WW2 Date: circa 1940s
The Nature of Light - Sir William Braggs experimentsThe Universe of Light: Factors in " A Fascinating Problem". The Nature of Light - The famous physicist Sir William Braggs experiments at his opening lecture at the Royal Institution - aimed
Burning lens built in 1782 by William Parker, the London instrument maker. According to Parker, the optical glass melted platinum in 30 seconds
PIX FOR MUTOSCOPETaking photographs for the mutoscope requires a camera capable of taking a great many pictures in rapid succession, which will later, when projected, suggest movement. Date: circa 1897
LIPPERSHEY TELESCOPEDutch astronomer Hans Lippershey demonstrates his optical device which anticipates the telescope Date: 1609
CHAPPES TELEGRAPH - 2The optical telegraph of Claude Chappe and his brother is erected on the Eglise de Montmartre, overlooking Paris Date: July 1793
London Trade Card - James Simons, Scientiific InstrumentsLondon Trade Card - James Simons, Mathematical, Philosophical and Optical Instruments, at Sir Isaac Newtons Head, corner of Marylebone Street, opposite Glasshouse Street. 18th century
100 inch Hooker Telescope
Folioscope, 1896more popularly known as the flicker-book, it is simply a succession of images which, if the pages are turned with sufficient rapidity, give the illusion of movement. 1896
Magic LanternUsing a double lantern, which makes it possible to superimpose one image on another, giving a crude illusion of movement
Jan Brueghel the Elder (1568-1625) and P. P. Rubens (1577-164Jan Brueghel the Elder (1568-1625). Flemish painter, with the collaboration of P.P. Rubens (1577-1640). Allegory of Sight, 1617. Oil on wood. Prado Museum. Madrid. Spain
Entrance hall by Allan Walton, carried out by Fortnum & Mason, with lightly marbled walls in ivory and pale green with rose pink, and a trompe l oeil effect seascape in perspective. Date: 1933
Enfermedades de los ojos (Eye diseases). Engraving illustrating major eye diseases: stye, conjunctivitis, squint, pterygium, keratitis. Engraving
Greta Garbo, optical illusion illustrationAn illustration by Japanese artist, Keye Luke, the idea is to look at the image and then stare at a white wall, where the image should appear. Date: 30th January 1935, p203
Edisons Kinetoscope 2EDISONs KINETOSCOPE " Reproducing to the eye the effect of human motion by means of a swift and graded succession of pictures"
French Railway Alphabet - N for Nivellement (levelling, surveying). 19th century
The Ring MagnetThe front cover of " The Sphere" magazine, 16 April 1927, featuring the latest innovation in eye-care. Factory workers suffering from metal filings flicked in to their eye can now have them
Binocular microscope large Best. London, around 1890Binocular microscope large Best. Signed: R. & J. Beck Ltd London 19901. London, around 1890. The Large Best microscope was the top product of R. and J
Roman Mosaic of polychrome geometric motifs. 3rd century B. CRoman Art. Italy. Roman Mosaic of polychrome geometric motifs. Dated to 211 BC. It comes from Lucus Feroniae. Lazio
Italy. Rome. Spadas Palace. Built in the 16th century and renovated in the 17th century by Francesco Borromini (1599-1667). Courtyard
Rotary ZootropeA rotary zootrope : the images on the disc, seen through the slits, give the illusion of movement. Date: 1882
Reynaud Projecting ZootropeReynauds Projecting Zootrope, a very sophisticated device, but also, doomed to be made obsolete by the praxinoscope and even more so by the first cinematograph projects. Date: 1890