The Origins of Animation

One could argue that animation began with the invention of the film camera and the Lumiere Brothers, however the earliest example of the modern definition of animation can be found in the work of Charles-Emile Reynaud. In 1892 he showed animations of about five-hundred frames using his Theatre-Optique system (similar to the modern film projector).

"Evidence of artistic interest in depicting figures in motion can be seen as early as the still drawings of Palaeolithic cave paintings, where animals are depicted with multiple sets of legs in superimposed positions, clearly attempting to convey the perception of motion." - The Art of Animation, Bob Thomas, 1958

Five-image sequence found on a 5,200-year old bowl in modern-day Iran.

The Origins of Mainstream American Animation

"The development of early American animation is represented by this collection of 21 animated films and 2 fragments, which spans the years 1900 to 1921. The films include clay, puppet, and cut-out animation, as well as pen drawings. They point to a connection between newspaper comic strips and early animated films, as represented by Keeping Up With the Joneses, Krazy Kat, and The Katzenjammer Kids. As well as showing the development of animation, these films also reveal the social attitudes of early twentieth-century America." (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/oahtml/oahome.html)