The desert – Vintage Print
![The desert, Haymarket, [London] : Published by Thos. McLean, [1833] — antique lithograph](https://images.jameslantos.com/img/58/586201d663b9-L.webp)
(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)
Description
A window into the past: The desert, preserved in this antique lithograph. It comes from the collections of the Library of Congress, scanned from the original and carefully restored.
Order it framed and ready to hang, or unframed to match a frame you already love. It brings character to any room and makes a memorable gift. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Snapshots of the Past, founded in 2001, has served tens of thousands of customers worldwide.
The desert
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Spun on its axis, this hand-colored lithograph sets a ball passing through a hoop, a monkey swinging through branches, and a zebra leaping between two trees into apparent motion. Thomas McLean published it in Haymarket, London, in 1833, as part of a series of such toys issued under the title *McLean's Optical Illusions; or Magic Panorama*. The effect rests on persistence of vision: the eye retains each painted position briefly after it passes, so the separate images blur into one moving scene.
| Created / published | Haymarket, [London] : Published by Thos. McLean, [1833] |
|---|---|
| Medium | 1 print on disc : lithograph, hand-colored ; 24 cm. |
| Genre | Optical toys English 1830-1840.Lithographs Hand-colored 1830-1840. |
| Notes | Optical illusion disc which is spun displaying the illusion of motion of a ball with a wedge-shaped piece missing passing through a hoop and of a monkey swinging on branches of a tree and a zebra jumping through an opening between two trees in a circle at the outer edge of the disc. Published in: McLean's optical illusions; or magic panorama. London, T. McLean, 1833. Exhibited: American Treasures of the Library of Congress. |
| Subjects | Animal locomotion--1830-1840. Optical illusions--1830-1840. |
| Source | Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division |
| Original scan | 4,701 × 3,777 px · prints to 16 × 13 in at 300 dpi |
| Reference | AMZ-SOTP-HPA-221544 |
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