The inventor William Ensign Lincoln invented the definitive version of the zoetrope in 1865, when he was about 18 years old and a sophomore at the Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Lincoln's patented version had the viewing slits on a level above the pictures, which allowed the use of easily replaceable strips of images. It also had an illustrated paper disc on the base, which was not always exploited on the commercially produced versions. On the advice of a local bookstore owner, Lincoln had sent a model to the board gamemanufacturing companyMilton Bradley and Co. in an attempt to market the animation device.[1]
In 1865, Edmund Johann Krüss, representing the optical equipment company Krüss Optronic, received a patent for his version of the magic lantern. The device was a forerunner of movie projectors.[2]