Toupie-fantoche (Spinning Top) Interactive

France, c. 1881

Object On display
Photograph by Egmont Contreras

Charles-Émile Reynaud wasn’t content with only inventing the praxinoscope. In 1881 he simplified his own design, creating a new portable optical toy called the toupie-fantoche, or ‘spinning top’. The toupie-fantoche consisted of a handle and a pyramid lined with mirrors at 45 degrees that reflected sequential images on a disc above. When the spinning top rotated, the rapid succession of illustrations gave the impression of one moving image. Typical scenes included butterflies fluttering, dogs jumping through hoops and drummer boys drumming.

A demonstration of the toupie-fantoche in a video on YouTube

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Collection

In ACMI's collection

On display until

16 February 2031

ACMI: Gallery 1

Credits

Production places
France
Production dates
c. 1881

Collection metadata

ACMI Identifier

P181400

Curatorial section

The Story of the Moving Image → Moving Pictures → MI-02. Play and Illusion → MI-02-C02

Measurements

190 x 280 x 280mm

Object Types

3D Object

Exhibition Prop

Optical Toy

Collected

20639 times

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If you would like to cite this item, please use the following template: {{cite web |url=https://acmi.net.au/works/100288--toupie-fantoche-spinning-top/ |title=Toupie-fantoche (Spinning Top) |author=Australian Centre for the Moving Image |access-date=14 November 2024 |publisher=Australian Centre for the Moving Image}}