Optique

A course description which came in a flyer today has me intrigued:

Halloween Optique. An optique is a wondrous, seemingly flat object that expands to reveal layer upon layer of scenes containing little surprises. Inspired by two antiques in his collection that date to the 1700s, [the instructor] has built optiques that have made their way into very prestigious collections. In this class, he’ll show you how to create a Halloween version.

I’m not intrigued enough to take the course, which is being taught at this Berkeley chichi writing and crafts store called Castle in the Air (their website is all Flash-based, about what you’d expect from this place), but would someday like to see one of these artifacts. Searching on the term brings up lots of links to antiquarian print dealers. Here’s a fuller description from one of these:

Vues d’optiques were hand-colored etchings and engravings intended to be viewed through a convex lens. The devices, known variously as zograscopes, optiques, optical machines and peepshows, were an optical entertainment of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The form emerged in 1740, and engravings were published mainly in London, Paris and Augsburg for roughly the next 100 years, until better stereoscopic technology supplanted it. Vues d’optiques were rendered in high-key color and dramatic linear perspective, which enhanced the illusion of three-dimensionality when viewed through the lens. According to the Getty Research Institute, street performers would set up viewing boxes with a series of prints giving a pictorial tour of famous landmarks, dramatic events and foreign lands. Some vues d’optique also had parts of the scenes cut out and the openings backed with translucent papers so that when the print was backlit, it appeared as an illuminated night scene. They most commonly depicted landmarks in large European cities or the Holy Land.