Animation Series

A series of articles looking at animation techniques of bowed instrument musicians prior to the advent of movies.

c.1800-1899 Pull tab animation - COMING SOON!

Simple, accessible, available! Pull tab animation was relatively cheap to produce and provided lots of fun. We take a look at some of the delights from the Larry Seidman collection. Larry has created some wonderful animated GIFs to enjoy!

c.1832-1899 Double Bass Player & Dancers Phenakistiscope

A phenakistiscope disc showing a double bass player and a dancer. Animated by Barry Pearce.

c.1860 The Motoscope, D. Appleton & Co., New York, USA - COMING SOON

There is only one Motoscope that is known to exist and only one of photolithograph of the twelve that we sold with the deivce remains. This article takes a look at this unique viewer. Animated by Barry Pearce.

c.1877-1879 Le Singe Musicien - Praxinoscope - COMING SOON!

Inventor Charles-Émile Reynaud developed the praxinoscope. It provided smoother animation than previous devices. Reynaud further developed this and within 15 years led to 300-700 frame films.