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The Mechanical Salesman Automaton

Posted on by by Posted in Automata & Kinetic Art, Vintage

Quote from the YouTube information:

“A rare 1920s automaton built by the Character Display Company in Chicago Illinois. Stored away and forgotten for about 60 years, this Mechanical Salesman is in amazing condition, still works like new and has his original shipping/storage case. Written & Narrated by Kurt Reichenbach.”

This well-produced video showcases a highly animated display that has some similarities to the Issasse coffee-drinking automatons shown in the previous post. The eyes and eyebrows are very active, and the mouth moves with a flexible and seamless joint.  And like Issasse, the mechanism appears to have seven independent motions for the various features, head, and arms.  It is animated by six cams (with one of the end cams side-pinned to serve double duty), all driven by a worm gear speed reducer.  The motions include left arm, right arm, head tilt, head pan, eyebrows, eyes, and mouth.

The manufacturer was the Character Display Co., 3249 Lakewood Avenue, Chicago 13, Illinois.

Here is what appears to be a similar display outfitted a little differently and ringing a bell instead of waving a stick:

… Read the rest

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Alexandre Pouchkine by François Junod

Posted on by by Posted in Automata & Kinetic Art

A Superb Contemporary Handwriting Automaton

This is not a new video, but this piece by François Junod is probably the most stunningly beautiful and complex automaton mechanism I have ever seen, contemporary or antique. In the context of what can be seen in this video it appears that there were no shortcuts, no compromises, and no cost-reductions – this is mechanical design done right.

But functionality was clearly not the only goal. The level of workmanship and finish detail on every piece part is unsurpassed and elevate this to a true work of art. I have been impressed by both the automaton and the video presentation since I first viewed it a couple of years ago, and I see a little more every time I watch it.

I thought it might be of interest to make some notes about how the mechanism appears to operate. I am no expert on anything, and I will make a disclaimer here by saying everything written below is my opinion or best guess and may not be accurate.

Points of Interest – Timeline

NOTE: Some sections of the video are only a fraction of a second in length. It may be helpful to open the video in a second browser if you are trying to follow along with the text.… Read the rest

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