The Persistence of Vision

Edweard Muybridge
"Camel in Motion"
Human and Animal Location: an Electro-Photographic Investigation. . . . 1887
Albumen silver print
Prints & Photographs Division
Copyright deposit (129B.1)

McClean's Optical Illustions
of Magic Panorama
Cover - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6
7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12
Phenakistiscope disk and handle
Prints & Photographs Division (129C.2)

The principle of "persistence of vision" maintains that a visual imprint remains in the brain for a short period after the object is withdrawn from view. Still photography and optical toys were the first tools to fully exploit the potential for creating "motion" pictures following this principle. Photographer Edweard Muybridge developed the Zoopraxiscope, an optical toy designed to animate his human and animal locomotion photography, shown here.