Antique Thaumatropes Set, c.1837 France, "Trompe-l’oeil ou les plaisirs de Jocko"

Exceptionally rare early thaumatrope collection. The set is complete with 24 discs housed in the publisher's box. Each disc has hand-colored engravings and tied silk strings. Distributed on the cusps of the Georgian and Victorian eras by Alphonse Giroux, Paris, 7 rue du Coq Saint-Honoré. In remarkable antique condition with astonishingly vivid colors and all strings attached.   Subject Matter The collection includes an interpretation of Henry Fuseli's painting "The Nightmare" (1782) with a woman in a vivid green gown, sleeping on a chaise, a demon perched upon her breast. Also, Harlequin (or Arlequin), the theatrical devil, is depicted dancing. (A reference to Armand d'Artois' "folie-vaudeville" Le Sultan du Havre, and reminiscent of Charles Malo's Almanach des Spectacles.) There is also a classic depiction of Napoleon and of Aesop's vanity tale Fox and Crow. Represented fashions span eras and nationalities (see, for example, the courting couple in possibly Regency Era costume; masquer