SO MANY TYPES OF KALEIDOSCOPES...WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?

In the Aleph® Collections you can find many variations on the theme ‘kaleidoscope’. They all have in common the quality components such as first surface mirror and optical lenses. But, depending on the object we observe and how the image is created, we can classify our kaleidoscopes into following types:

CLASSIC KALEIDOSCOPE

A selection of transparent couloured bits held loosely in an object cell at the end
of the tube, are shown in continually changing symmetrical forms by reflection
 in three optical mirros. Endless varying colors and patterns appear as the tube is rotated.

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KALEIDOSCOPE WITH A ROTATING CHAMBER

This type is similar to the classic kaleidoscope, but it’s obect cell
 can turn independently of the body of the kaleidoscope. 
This enables the viewer to create more or less drastic changes of the kaleidoscopic 
pattern.

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TELEIDOSCOPE

An inexhaustible image creating instrument: a system of lenses and
 three optical mirrors catches the images from your environment and turns them
 into an infinite number
 of kaleidoscopic views.
The abstract repeating mosaics
change with the slightest movement of the instrument.
 The world becomes a kaleidoscope!

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KALEIDOSCOPE WITH WHEELS

Two wheels resulting from the fusing of transparent glass with coloured
glass flakes and strings, that rotate around the same axel – also in opposite
 directions – to create brightly coloured designs and superimpositions.
The glass wheels are decorated one by one and no two are identical.

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KALEIDOSCOPE WITH A SPHERE

This type of kaleidoscope has a multicoloured marble made of Murano glass
suspended at the end of the mirrors. By rotating the sphere at 360° in
all directions you can create innumerable deeply coloured arabesques.
Every marble is a unique piece and handblown by craftsmen of Murano in
 the Venetian lagoon.

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CAMERA OBSCURA KALEIDOSCOPE

This is special kind of classic kaleidoscope.
The patterns and images appear creating a ”moonlit” effect on a black
 background produced by the presence of iridescent coloured crystals 
that catch the light shining through the sides of the transparent object cell.

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SPHEROSCOPE

This interesting version of the teleidoscope has a two-mirror-system
 and a big aspherical rotating lens.
The circular images change at the slightest movement
of the external lens or of the whole instrument.

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KALEIDOSCOPE SET

This type has one or more interchangeable components and enables the owner to
 change the object(s) to be observed through the kaleidoscope. Objects can be
 added or removed from the object cell, the object cell can be replaced
 by a lens filter, that transforms the kaleidoscope in a teleidoscope etc.

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"MAGIC TUBE" KALEIDOSCOPE

Sparkling coloured particles, suspended in a colourless liquid,
 flow up and down in continuous motion inside the acrylic tubes, creating
 images similar to a firework display.

History of Kaleidoscope

David Brewster, a Scottish physicist,
patented the kaleidoscope in 1817.

Evidence shows that pieces of polished obsidian (a volcanic glass) were used as mirrors as long as 8,000 years ago [source: Enoch]. Mirrors reflected sunlight or fire in early lighthouses, and there's a record of a possible optical illusion by an ancient Egyptian magician involving a mirror. By the 17th century, the "Hall of Mirrors" -- an ornate corridor with 357 mirrors -- in the Palace of Versailles became a display of French glory. Mirrors also may have helped achieve symmetry in planning ornamental gardens, a step in the direction toward the kaleidoscope.

By the early 19th century, the stage was set for this new device that turned utilitarian mirrors into fun. In the early 1800s, scientists were exploring concepts of light and optics, while improving technologies also allowed the middle classes to devote more time and resources to leisure activities. Devices known as philosophical toys became a form of amusement that did double duty by sharing scientific advances while entertaining the masses.

In 1816, Scotsman Dr. David Brewster was the first to arrange mirrors and objects in a tube and call it a kaleidoscope. Not just a toy, the device also was intended for use by designers and artists, who might be inspired by the beautiful patterns they could create. Brewster patented his invention in 1817.

Kaleidoscope technology made its next leap forward in 1873. That's when American Charles Bush patented several improvements. He added a stand that could be easily disassembled for portability and a rotating wheel to expand the variety of possible designs. Perhaps Bush's most ingenious advance, though, came in the form of special ampoules. An ampoule is a small, sealed glass vial often holding medicine. Tiny ampoules already had been used as objects in some kaleidoscopes. Bush's patent specified ampules with "two or more liquids of different densities or character, or a liquid with a solid or solids." Bush wrote that the liquids within the ampoules should be unable to mix and each would have its own color. This allowed for even more intricate designs [source: Bush].

Entertainment hit the high-tech big-time over the next century. Radio, motion pictures and television pushed kaleidoscopes mainly into children's hands. That is, until an exhibition at Maryland's Strathmore Hall Arts Center in 1985 included more than 100 kaleidoscopes and drew great interest. Establishment of the Brewster Kaleidoscope Society for kaleidoscope enthusiasts soon followed.

Today, the society lists about 125 kaleidoscope artists among its members. They're busily turning the philosophical toys into unique art. On the next page, we'll take a look at the wide range of materials and types of kaleidoscopes available today. You'll see that kaleidoscopes have come a long way in 200 years.