Peep show box

Device for family use, patented by toy manufacturer Pierre Henri Amand Lefort in 1849. It was inspired by the eighteenth-century peep show boxes and the Daguerre diorama show of 1822, of which it was a simplified and small-scale version, intended for family use. It consists of a portable case with a lens on the front, adjustable by a bellows system, which allowed one to observe an optical view placed inside. This view is translucent and the change in the incidence of light allows the user to change the physiognomy of the image. For example, if the light strikes the front of the view, thanks to the shutter located at the top of the device, the image is daytime; conversely, if the light comes from the back of the device, thanks to a window that opens behind the view, then the image takes on a nocturnal effect or changes completely. These optical views were lithographs printed on both sides; on the back was attached a thin piece of paper on which one could stick small pieces of coloured paper. They are framed in wood and sometimes also have small perforations through which light passed. Polyorama Panoptiques were sold in various sizes.