This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions), and as such we offer a high-resolution image of it. See our image rights statement.

 

Object Timeline

1948

  • We acquired this object.

2015

2025

  • You found it!

Optical Toy, Phenakistiscope Disc with Dancing Man

This is a Optical toy. It was designed by Simon von Stampfer. It is dated ca. 1835 and we acquired it in 1948. Its medium is hand-colored lithograph on paperboard. It is a part of the Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design department.

It is credited Museum purchase through gift of Mrs. John Innes Kane.

Its dimensions are

H x diam.: 25 × 25 cm (9 13/16 × 9 13/16 in.)

It is inscribed

Printed in black text, at outer perimeter: Prof. Stampfer’s Stroboscopische Scheibe. / XX / Vertag von Trentsensky & Vieneg in Wien u. Leipzig.

Cite this object as

Optical Toy, Phenakistiscope Disc with Dancing Man; Designed by Simon von Stampfer (Austrian, 1792 - 1864); hand-colored lithograph on paperboard; H x diam.: 25 × 25 cm (9 13/16 × 9 13/16 in.); Museum purchase through gift of Mrs. John Innes Kane; 1948-124-1

This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian’s Terms of Use page.

If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://www-4.collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18607977/ |title=Optical Toy, Phenakistiscope Disc with Dancing Man |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=7 February 2025 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>