In 1833 scientist Simon von Stampfer and lithographer Matthias Trentsensky presented in Vienna their invention of the Stroboscopic Discs. These discs show all kinds of animated loops from figurative to abstract and from documentary to experimental, thus anticipating the diversity of genres in (animated) film. The introductory material of the book provides an insight into the research at the beginning of the 19th century that paved the way for the invention of the phenakistiscope. The following series of 23 full-page images of the Optical Magic Discs offers an illustration to support Thomas Renoldner's proposal to assign Stampfer’s animated loops as “short films” to different film genres.