Our Thaumatropes The thaumatrope is among the simplest of the "persistence of vision" toys that were introduced in the early 19th century. In its basic form it is a card with a different picture on each surface and string attached to each side. When the string is wound up then released the card spins rapidly merging the two pictures together. Less common were examples like the mechanical toy below where two images of different phases of a movement caused the image to move. The illustration on the right below is from a booklet, "Every Boy His Own Toy-Maker" published by F. M. Lupton in 1874. A PDF of this page on making a thaumatrope can be downloaded from this link. On the left in the row below is a clockwork toy thaumatrope called a New Mechanical Cinema. Most thaumatropes do not show motion but combine two images into one. The cards for this toy show two frames of a movement. The see saw goes up and down, a pair of boxers punch as it turns. We were lucky to find one in pristine condition with its cards in a box.