Ernst Plank Kinematofor

1898 Ernst Plank Kinematofor praxinoscope with hot air engine and animated strip creating motion illusion
https://www.nfsa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2025-07/object-kinematofor-praxinoscope-818041.jpg
Title:
Ernst Plank Kinematofor
NFSA ID
818041
Year
1898
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The kinematofor, made by Ernst Plank of Germany, is a variation of the praxinoscope invented in 1876 by Paris school teacher Charles-Émile Reynaud. This kinematofer dates from 1898. An intricate pre-cinema toy, it was also a successor to the zoetrope.

The kinematofer is powered by a miniature hot air engine, which activates a circular platform with stationary mirrors and a paper strip of images. When in operation, the circular platform rotates, and the mirrors reflect the pictures onto the outer drum to achieve the optical illusion of images in motion.