Le Minimus was patented by Lucien Bize and Simeon Louis Claparede in 1907[1]. The device was announced a year later, together with the Phoenix (or Phénix) and the more advanced Multiphote[2]. The Minimus was introduced for the glass stereoview formats 45x107mm and 6x13cm.
The Minimus doesn’t have an advanced mechanism and was therefore compact and affordable. The device can hold 24 slides which are placed in the top section. By turning a knob, the front panel with the lenses moves outward and the slides fall off the end of the viewer and are positioned in front of the lenses. Turning further will drop the slides into the slots of the storage compartment in the bottom. When all slides have been viewed, the Minimus is inverted and all slides fall back in their original position and can be replaced. Later models used a slide tray to catch the slides and made replacing the slides a bit easier. The lenses of the Minimus can be focussed, but the distance between the lenses is not adjustable. The model in this post is for the 45x107mm format and has a dealer plate of Photo Bachelier from Épinal.
References
- Bize, Lucien-Albert; Claparede, Simeon-Louis. Stéréoscope, patent FR374970, 23 February 1907 – via: data.inpi.fr
- Announcement new stereoscopes by Maison Bize. Le Gaulois, July 29, 1908 – via: gallica.bnf.fr