19th century illustration of a praxinoscope theatre. In 1876, Reynaud, a French inventor, 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 clearer and less distorted view of the moving image. Several people could watch the performance at the same time. After Reynaud licensed his invention in 1877, it sold well in a number of the large Paris department stores.This improved version included a glass viewing screen which allowed the moving image to be superimposed over a changeable background. He continued to improve the design and in 1880 created the first projection version. The Projection Praxinoscope used a lantern to project the moving images onto a small screen, allowing a larger audience to view it.