 The term had been used occasionally for a theatrical variation of peep shows or dioramas with moving figures since at least the 18th century.In 1877 Reynaud had created the praxinoscope, an improvement of the zoetrope.The praxinoscope replaced the narrow viewing slits of the zoetrope with an inner circle of 12 mirrors (equal to the number of images), allowing a brighter and clearer view of the moving image.