It all started on an ordinary Saturday morning: after a lovely breakfast with my girlfriend at the time - my current wife - I had been 'persuaded' to go along to the local Stuttgart flea market.

 

While she looked at belts and hats, I noticed at an adjoining table a black magic lantern, a simple model made by the German firm Carette. In the evening we sat in our kitchen and tried to project an image onto a wall, but with no success - the light from the candle was not strong enough to give a satisfactory picture.

 

Still, it was a magical moment. Somehow this blackbox has switched on my collector's passion that is unbroken to this day. The following book is the result of 25 years of passion for collecting "Optical Toys - Precinema".