History of Animation: 19th Century

"Animation is arguably the most important creative form of the 21st century... it is the omnipresent pictorial form of the modern era." Paul Wells

Magic Lantern - Early 1800s:

These were used before modern day slide projectors. They used light and mirrors to project an image. This device was improved with the advancement of light technology. Early on, this device was used by magicians and entertainers to create illusions.


Thaumatrope - 1824:

This was a toy used in the Victorian era. It was made from a disk or card with a different picture on each side and attached to two pieces of string. When the strings are turned at a fast pace, the card would rotate thus displaying a combination of the two images. It was invented by John Ayrton Paris in 1824. This was known to be the first tool to create an optical illusion of synthesising images.

Phenakistoscope  - 1829-32:

A spinning disc attached to a handle. Minimal images are shown around the disc and are spun to create the illusion of movement.

Zoetrope - 1879:
A series of images  used to create the flow of motion. It is formed of a cylinder with slits cut vertically in the sides. Inside the surface a set of images are sequenced to create to show stages of movement. The user will look through the cylinder as it spins.

Praxinsocpe - 1877
This was invented in France by Charles-Emile Reynaud. This contraption was an improvement of the zoetrope as it replaces the narrow viewing slits with an inner circle of mirrors. This enabled the user to look into the mirror and see a rapid movement of images with better lighting and less distortion than the zoetrope. Reynaud then presented the Theatre Optique moving picture show to a mass audience in 1892.