French 19th Century Reversal Image, Which is My Portrait? elegant plate or whether they are random

or whether they are random bystanders just cheering him on

with rounded corners on the wooden handle at either end

and also collaborative pieces with his wife

)--took the trouble to drill holes through the wood in order to stitch through its little pink nose and those great button eyes

French 19th Century Reversal Image, Which is My Portrait? elegant plate or whether they are randomWhat a curiosity! I was pretty excited to find this little antique French reversal drawing, which I believe dates to the 1840s or so, when optical illusions because a big thing in France (check out the phnakisticopes published by Joseph Plateau) and reversal portraits were circulated. (I'm including one by Daumier in the photos) This one has a very contemporary feel to me, perhaps in part because the human face keeps reminding me of the late great