Muybridge and the Riddle of Locomotion

Eadweard Muybridge (1830-1900) is famous for his invention of very fast photography, and his discovery of how animals and people run. Born in England, he moved to California during the gold rush boom, became a celebrated landscape photographer, and then studied "Animals in Motion" and "The Human Figure in Motion".

For more than a century people have marveled at his series of "Locomotion" images, which depict horses, cats and people moving in their natural instinctive ways. He was able to show the specific elements of our motion, so that they can be studied and understood. Most of us have seen Muybridge images on "lenticular" postcards -- 2, 3 or even 4 printed images under grooved plastic, that seem to "move" as they are tilted at different angles.

Muybridge and the Riddle of Locomotion uses a unique combination of words, printed reproductions of Muybridge's classic photos and lenticular images on the cover and on the book's pages, to concisely tell the history of these discoveries in the early years of photography.

The lenticular images contained in the book -- of a man, a horse, a cat and more -- will thrill and intrigue young readers, firstly by the "magic" of lenticular images and their suggested motion, and also the true history of an enigmatic genius who invented fast photography and opened the door to the invention of movies.

Marta Braun is an internationally known historian of locomotion photography and the beginning of motion pictures. She teaches at Ryerson University in Toronto.