They’re called folioscopes in France and translate to ‘thumb cinema’ in German, but they’re best known as flipbooks. Images come to life when you rapidly flip through pages of sequential illustrations or photographs. Popular since the 1860s, flipbooks have been used as promotional tools, cereal box prizes and artworks. They have animated everything from boxing matches and erotic dances to political propaganda and cartoons.
Related works
Collection
Not in ACMI's collection
On display until
16 February 2031
ACMI: Gallery 1
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
Curatorial section
The Story of the Moving Image → Moving Pictures → MI-02. Play and Illusion → MI-02-C02