The Thaumatrope was introduced by Dr John Ayrton Paris in 1824 to demonstrate the effect of persistence of vision. It was published and offered to the market in April 1825 by William Phillips in London, the first issue entitled Thaumatropical Amusement and sold in a small round box. Whitton illustrates an early set dating from circa 1835, including an apparently identical disc (flowers in bloom) to the one offered in this later part-set.