Emile REYNAUD, Paris. - Lot 380

Emile REYNAUD, Paris. Rare projection praxinoscope in its two original cases. It contains 15 subjects and 4 sets, and is therefore almost complete (only set 1 is missing). H_45 cm max rotating support H_ 32 cm projector Simply missing the termination at the top of the chimney and an accident to a set of images. Very rare optical set from the last quarter of the 19th century. In 1880, Émile Reynaud invented the projection praxinoscope, an optical toy for projecting moving figures and fixed scenery onto a screen, based on the principle of optical compensation. It takes up the basics of the praxinoscope-theater, i.e. animated characters inside a fixed set, but Émile Reynaud, by adding projection, corrects a major limitation of the praxinoscope-theater, whose animation is only visible to a single spectator at a time. Projection is achieved with a slightly modified magic lantern, using a light source in a box on which two optical systems are mounted. The first projects the fixed scenery (transparent on a glass plate, like a traditional magic lantern), while the second projects the animated characters. The characters are drawn transparently on interconnected glass plates. An opaque black background surrounds the characters, so that they stand out perfectly against the background. Finally, the series of glass plates and mirrors are tilted to direct the light beam onto the screen. Often confused with optical theater, the projection praxinoscope is the latest evolution of the praxinoscope towards optical theater, but it still only offers the spectator the vision of cyclical movement (source wikipedia).