Phenakistoscope Optical Toy

The Phenakistiscope, despite the difficulty of its name, it is in fact an amusing toy. The Belgian physicist of century XIX, Joseph Plateau, was the one who invented this instrument based on the persistence of the retina.

Phenakistiscope contains, then, in essence, the first principle of the cinema which is essentially human eye reaction by the disc of Plateau effect. The only difference is that images drawn on the disc have been replaced by the photographic images of the celluloid tape.

Its operation is very simple: place the disc you want to see on the shaft of the instrument, then you place in front of a mirror, turn the wheel and watch the illusion of movement in the mirror (figure 4)

Our model consists of 12 discs, which are reproduction of the draw by Plateau in the mid-nineteenth century.

Made of wood and brass -  Made in Spain.