In
1826, a man called Dr. John Ayrton Paris began selling the first animated
toys in London. He called his toy a thaumatrope, which is Greek for 'wonder
turner'.It consisted simply of a disc with two pieces of string attached
to it. When the disc was spun between the strings, the images on the back
and front blended together to form a single picture. Popular images included
birds in cages, circus performers and the encounters between dogs and
cats.
Copyright
The Bill Douglas Centre, 2002.
No text or images from these pages may be reproduced in any form without permission
from the Centre
Created by Hester Higton on 22
May 2002.
Last modified on 22
May 2002
In
1826, a man called Dr. John Ayrton Paris began selling the first animated
toys in London. He called his toy a thaumatrope, which is Greek for 'wonder
turner'.It consisted simply of a disc with two pieces of string attached
to it. When the disc was spun between the strings, the images on the back
and front blended together to form a single picture. Popular images included
birds in cages, circus performers and the encounters between dogs and
cats.