Brass Double Wheel Kaleidoscope Vintage Collectible. Very nice condition A kaleidoscope (from the Greek kalós "beautiful", eîdos "image" and skopéō "to observe") or kaleidoscope[1] is a tube containing three mirrors, which form a triangular prism with its reflecting part facing inward, at the end of which are two translucent sheets between which there are several objects of different colors and shapes, whose images are multiplied symmetrically as the tube rotates while looking at the opposite end. These mirrors can be arranged at different angles. At 40° from each one, eight duplicate images are generated. At 60° six duplicates are observed and at 90° four. The kaleidoscope is also well known for the teleidoscope, but there is no relationship between the two. Although it is most commonly made up of one contact lens, a kaleidoscope can also be built with two, or more than three, to achieve different types of effects.The modern kaleidoscope was invented in 1816 by Scottish physicist David Brewster, who patented it in 1817