Automaton
Category
Toys
Date
circa 1900
Materials
Wood, metal, glass and printed cardboard
Measurements
720mm (height), 510mm (width), 145mm (depth)
Place of origin
France
Order this imageCollection
Sudbury Hall Museum of Childhood, Derbyshire
NT 657438
Summary
An automaton picture of a conjuror on a stage (circa 1900). With key and printed on several sheets of cardboard arranged in front of one another. The picture depicts a magician wearing evening dress on stage. The audience sit in front of the stage and in a box above. Both of the magician's arms move, in his right hand he holds a yellow fan over his face, and in his left he holds a lift-off end of a black box which sits on a table covered with a red cloth. A member of the audience in the box above claps his hands and a man in the audience below nods his head. All of these moving parts are attached to wires operated by a clockwork mechanism attached to the reverse of the picture. The picture is set within a deep wooden frame, with a hinged back panel allowing access to the mechanism, and at the front a hinged, carved wooden frame containing glass. Both the front and back panels are secured with hooks. Total number of items is 2.
Provenance
Loaned to the Museum of Childhood by the Betty Cadbury Trust Sudbury in May 1993.