Sir David Brewster invented the kaleidoscope in 1816, watched Britain go mad for it, and earned almost nothing from a pirated patent. The Kaleidoscope: Its History, Theory and Construction is his own account — the optics of multiplied reflection, the correct construction pirates got wrong, and applications he earnestly proposed for art and design.
It is the rare book where a great physicist explains a toy — and means every theorem. Download the free EPUB for optics at its most delightful.