Panoptique Double Polyorama viewer

extremely rare large version of the Polyorama Panoptique with two viewing lenses, Polyorama is an optical toy which was popular from the 1820s through to the 1860s. It was invented by Pierre Seguin and is based on Daguerre's Diorama. It consists of a portable box-camera designed to take printed and painted cards. The box is attached to a concertina device which carries the viewing lenses. The illustration card is inserted at the back of the box and can be illuminated through the door on the top or from the back - to show day and night views of the scene. The viewer is complete and in good condition, the fragile paper covering and bellows are show only minor signs of wear. Included it modern candle stand for back-illumination. The real highlight of this lot are included 58 printed and hand-coloured plates 25.5x33.5cm (many of them are elaborately made for day and night views)