AutomataCon: A Convention for Automata Enthusiasts: The Morris Museum, Morristown, New Jersey, March 18-20, 2016

We at Morbid Anatomy are so excited about AutomataCon, an upcoming convention for makers, collectors and enthusiasts of Automata, moving mechanical toys popular in the 18th Century and 19th Centuries. AutomataCon will take place March 18-20, 2016 at The Morris Museum, who house one the finest collections of antique automata in the world.

The full schedule for the event follows; You can find out more--and get tickets--here. See previous posts on the Morris Museum here and here.

AutomataCon

A Convention for Automata Enthusiasts

March 18-20, 2016, Morris Museum, Morristown, New Jersey

AutomataCon is a convention of and for artists, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts of automatons and related kinetic art. It is a two day event being held March 18th and 19th, 2016 at and in conjunction with the Morris Museum in Morristown, New Jersey, home of the Murtogh D. Guinness Collection of Mechanical Musical Instruments and Automata.

The goal of the convention is to gather people from around the world to share ideas, build relationships, and grow interest in automata new and old. The convention will include a variety of private and public programming, such as social gatherings, museum tours, panel discussions, live demonstrations, workshops, presentations, and an exhibition.

The idea for a convention stemmed from the fellowship shown on the Automata / Automaton Group and Mechanical Adventures group on Facebook. Like the Facebook groups, I feel that the true value of the convention will be the relationships built and knowledge shared when passionate people of common interest come together. As such, the success of the convention will depend on the attendees. It will be what we make of it. I am optimistic that great things will come. 

AutomataCon is a convention of and for artists, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts of automatons and related kinetic art. It is a two day event being held March 18th and 19th, 2016 at and in conjunction with the Morris Museum in Morristown, New Jersey, home of the Murtogh D. Guinness Collection of Mechanical Musical Instruments and Automata.

The goal of the convention is to gather people from around the world to share ideas, build relationships, and grow interest in automata new and old. The convention will include a variety of private and public programming, such as social gatherings, museum tours, panel discussions, live demonstrations, workshops, presentations, and an exhibition.

The idea for a convention stemmed from the fellowship shown on the Automata / Automaton Group and Mechanical Adventures group on Facebook. Like the Facebook groups, I feel that the true value of the convention will be the relationships built and knowledge shared when passionate people of common interest come together. As such, the success of the convention will depend on the attendees. It will be what we make of it. I am optimistic that great things will come.  

SCHEDULE

Friday Night Reception

March 18, 6-9 PM

Join us for a private reception at the Morris Museum consisting of light refreshments and hors d'oeuvres, with private and behind-the-scenes tours of the Murtogh D. Guinness Collection of Mechanical Musical Instruments and Automata.

Saturday Programming

March 19, 11 am - 5 PM

Saturday programming will include a variety of panels and programming, covering topics such as

• The History of Automatons
• Techniques for Making Automatons
• Automaton Collecting
• Demonstrations and Meet-the-Artists
• Hands-On Workshops
• Table displays and sales (more info soon)
• Special programming in the Bickford Theater

More details will be posted as panelists are finalized. Please volunteer to participate when you register, as AutomataCon's success depends on its attendees!

Premier showing of historic film, "Le Monde des Automates"

Saturday, March 19, Time TBD

We are pleased to announce that AutomataCon will host the premier showing of the extremely rare 1928 film, “Le Monde des Automates [the World of Automata],” in the museum’s Bickford Theatre, courtesy of Jere and Steve Ryder of AutaMusique, Ltd. This silent film was meant to accompany Alfred Chapuis’ & Eduard Gélis’ foundational 2 volume book by same name, and which has been effectively ‘lost’ from public view for 70+ years. Originally created as a typical period silent film using hand-driven cameras, an accompanying sound track was added shortly thereafter, making this one of the first Swiss-made sound films. About 25-30 minutes in length, it documents some extremely rare and unique automata and mechanical music, at a very early time. A fabulous historical document.

Sunday Programming

March 20, 11 am - 2 PM

Sunday programming will include additional, less formal panels and programming. Demonstrations of the Guinness Collection are also given at 2 PM.

Image: Suicide of Cleopatra automaton from The Morris Museum, about 1880-1890

Mechanical Marvels: Clockwork Dreams: A History of Automatons on the BBC

Mechanical Marvels: Clockwork Dreams
DURATION: 1 HOUR
Documentary presented by Professor Simon Schaffer which charts the amazing and untold story of automata - extraordinary clockwork machines designed hundreds of years ago to mimic and recreate life.

The film brings the past to life in vivid detail as we see how and why these masterpieces were built. Travelling around Europe, Simon uncovers the history of these machines and shows us some of the most spectacular examples, from an entire working automaton city to a small boy who can be programmed to write and even a device that can play chess. All the machines Simon visits show a level of technical sophistication and ambition that still amazes today.

As well as the automata, Simon explains in great detail the world in which they were made - the hardship of the workers who built them, their role in global trade and the industrial revolution and the eccentric designers who dreamt them up. Finally, Simon reveals that to us that these long-forgotten marriages of art and engineering are actually the ancestors of many of our most loved modern technologies, from recorded music to the cinema and much of the digital world.

Thanks to Ross MacFarlane for bringing this to my attention. You can find out more here and watch the program above or by clicking here.

"St. Dennistoun Mortuary" Coin-Operated Automaton LIVE AND IN ACTION!!!

Regular readers of Morbid Anatomy might remember a recent post on this blog about an amazing 1920/30s era coin-operated automaton depictingthe St. Dennistoun Mortuary (yes, really!) that will be going to auction this Saturday. Skinner Auction House just sent along a video of this magnificent machine in action.

Press play above and enjoy. WOW.

The piece is estimated to go for between $4,000-$6,000 as part of an upcoming Science, Technology & Clocks auction taking place Saturday, June 2 at 10:00AM. Full lot description from the Skinner Auctioneers website follows:

Lot 207
"St. Dennistoun Mortuary" Coin-Operated Automaton, attributed to Leonard Lee, c. 1900, the mahogany cabinet and glazed viewing area displays a Greek Revival mortuary building with double doors and grieving mourners out front, when a coin is inserted, doors open and the room is lighted revealing four morticians and four poor souls on embalming tables, the morticians move as if busily at work on their grisly task and mourners standing outside bob their heads as if sobbing in grief, ht. 30 1/2, wd. 24, dp. 17 1/4 in.

Estimate $4,000-6,000

Brass coin plate stamped J. Dennison Leeds NO. 80

As I said before, whoever buys this, please (please!!!) let me come over to meet it! You can find out more about it here.

"St. Dennistoun Mortuary" Coin-Operated Automaton, Attributed to Leonard Lee, c. 1900, Skinner Auctioneers, June 2, 2012

All I have to say is WOW: pictured above are scenes from a coin-operated automaton (which I am guessing is from the 1920s or 30s, rather than 1900 as the auctioneers claim) in which, after a coin is inserted, "doors open and the room is lighted revealing four morticians and four poor souls on embalming tables, the morticians move as if busily at work on their grisly task and mourners standing outside bob their heads as if sobbing in grief."

This object is for sale (!!!) and is estimated to go for between $4,000-$6,000 as part of an upcoming Science, Technology & Clocks auction taking place on June 2, 2012 10:00AM. Full lot description from the Skinner Auctioneers website follows:

Lot 207
"St. Dennistoun Mortuary" Coin-Operated Automaton, attributed to Leonard Lee, c. 1900, the mahogany cabinet and glazed viewing area displays a Greek Revival mortuary building with double doors and grieving mourners out front, when a coin is inserted, doors open and the room is lighted revealing four morticians and four poor souls on embalming tables, the morticians move as if busily at work on their grisly task and mourners standing outside bob their heads as if sobbing in grief, ht. 30 1/2, wd. 24, dp. 17 1/4 in.

Estimate $4,000-6,000

Brass coin plate stamped J. Dennison Leeds NO. 80

You can find out more and see the other lots--which include other automatons including an amazing automaton last supper!--by clicking here. My only plea, if any of you Morbid Anatomy readers purchase this, please (please!) invite me over to see it in action! I would certainly buy it myself if I could afford it. If the Musée Mécanique is still actively collecting, this would make a wonderful addition to their rich collection of coin-op toys depicting deaths by such means as guillotine, French execution, and English execution; yes, really. More on that here.

Thanks so much to Morbid Anatomy readers Nanette Rod and Jane Fuller for bringing this amazing object to my attention! All images sourced from the auctioneer website; click on images to see larger versions.

New Lot of the Beautiful Book "Musical Machines and Living Dolls" The Guinness Collection at The Morris Museum

The Murtogh D. Guinness Collection at the Morris Museum is an astounding collection of automata (mechanical toys popular in the 18th and 19th century) and mechanical musical instruments that can be visited in--of all surprising places--Morristown, New Jersey. The collection is mind-blowingly vast; it is, in fact, the largest such public collection in the U. S. and one of the largest in the world, with around 700 automata and mechanical musical instruments and over 5,000 programmed media, nearly all of which are were produced in the 19th Century.

The highlight of the Morris Collection--in my opinion, at least!--is its extensive lot of fine 19th Century European automatons. Most of the pieces are in excellent repair and still able to go through their uncanny motions, and the scale, quality, and range of the collection are simply flabbergasting, the kind of thing you might consider yourself lucky to find in France (where many automata producers were based) but certainly not here on the East Coast of the United States.

The Morris Museum has just published a new book devoted to this collection, and I currently have 10 copies of the book in stock. Entitled Musical Machines and Living Dolls: Mechanical Musical Instruments and Automata from the Murtogh D. Guinness Collection, this book is a lovely little gem all its own; it is hardcover, full color throughout, beautifully printed, and well-researched. It also includes a well-researched overview of the history of automata from ancient times to the present and a biography of Murtogh D. Guinness, the heir to the Guinness beer fortune who amassed this collection and ultimately bequeathed it to the Morris Museum.

The book also--luckily for me!--features extensive text and scores of images (all images above are drawn from the book!) devoted to many of my favorite pieces in the collection, such as a number of 18th Century-style monkey dandies engaging in human activities (images 2, 3 & 4), 3 cats playing cards (image 5), a lute-playing Mephistopholes (image 7), an asp-suiciding Cleopatra (!!!) (image 6), performing tightrope walkers with orchestral accompaniment (image 9), a hookah-smoking Turk, singing birds, strutting peacocks, performing magicians, street vendors peddling their wares, and much, much more.

To give you a taste of the style and level of research to be found in this book, I include here the entire entry for the fascinating piece you see 6 images down, a late 19th century automaton entitled "The Suicide of Cleopatra":

The Suicide of Cleopatra
About 1880-90
Phalibois, Paris, France
37" x 45 1/2" w x 12 1/2" d
2003.18.236a-c

Surrounded by a massive gilt frame, this animated scene would have dominated most parlors of the time. It depicts a highly sensual version of Queen Cleopatra of Egypt's supposed suicide in 30 B.C. When activated, her breast heaves, her eyelids blink--and an asp strikes.

Although made in the late 1800s, the scene reflects a long-standing Western fascination with Egypt, which had been renewed by Napoleon Bonaparte's occupation of the country at the turn of the nineteenth century. Along with tens of thousands of troops, Bonaparte brought with him scientists and scholars who recorded all that they saw. The Description de l'Egypte, which emerged from their research, became a source for artists, designers, architects, and others, and the ensuing widespread fascination spread from everything from furniture to parlor entertainment.

Morbid Anatomy is delighted to be assisting The Morris Museum in the distribution of this lovely and informative book, which contains images and information to be found nowhere else. The cost of the book is $40; shipping and handling within the United States is $5 and shipping and handling for international orders is $20. The book is 10 1/2" X 8 1/2" and runs to about 140 pages. As I am unable to get these books listed on Amazon.com, those interested in ordering a copy can contact me directly at morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com.

You can find out more about the Morris Museum--including how to visit the collection in person!--by clicking here. Also, stay tuned for a soon-to-be-announced second field trip to visit the collection. If interested in receiving an alert, subscribe to the Morbid Anatomy mailing list by adding your email address on the upper left-hand side of this blog under the header "Mailing List of Events, Happenings, and The Like."

All images are drawn from the book and picture, from top to bottom:

1. Book Cover
2. Barrel Reed Organ with Monkey Automata, about 1865
3. Monkey Violinist, about 1855
4. Monkey Dandy, about 1880
5. Cats Playing Cards, about 1900
6. Suicide of Cleopatra, about 1880-1890
7. Mephistopholes (Model No. 1), about 1886-1900
8. Barrel Organ with Animated Figures, about 1820-1840 (detail)
9. Tightrope Dancer and Musicians, about 1875-1885 (detail)
   

Automatons in the News AND at the Airport!

Our buddy Jere Ryder of the Guinness Collection of automata at the Morris Museum just forwarded me a CBS video that features his automata collection, a truly enchanting automaton at the Franklin Institute in Philly (which, we are informed, inspired the book The Invention of Hugo Cabret), and provides a very engaging history of the craft to boot. Highly recommended! To view, simply press the play button above.

Also, for the automaton lovers among you who happen to be passing through the San Francisco International Airport international terminal before June 2012, you can go check out some automatons on display between flights! Click here for more on that. More on the Morris Museum collection can be found here.

Thanks very much to Jere Ryder for sending these links along.

Exhibition: "Mechanical Wonders: The Sandoz Collection," Through November 26, 2011

This exhibit looks truly amazing! Many of the objects, I am told, come only very rarely to The United States, so make sure to take advantage of this opportunity while you can! I will absolutely be making a personal pilgrimage.

"Mechanical Wonders: The Sandoz Collection"
Presented by A La Vieille Russie and Parmigiani
October 26 – November 26, 2011

Visit ALVR this Fall to see a very special loan exhibition of intricate marvels that jump, sing and act as you never believed jeweled creations could.

Featuring early 19th century Swiss gold and enamel automaton snuff boxes, watches, magicians, and animals, the Imperial Swan Egg of 1906 and the Imperial Peacock Egg of 1908 by Fabergé, as well as contemporary interpretations by Parmigiani Fleurier of watches in the Sandoz Collection. In addition, the catalogue raisonné of the collection will be presented for the first time.

EXHIBITION HOURS (beginning October 26):
Monday through Friday 11am-6pm
Thursday 11am-7pm
Saturday 12pm-5pm
Closed for Thanksgiving Day.

Address: 781 Fifth Avenue at 59th Street
New York, NY 10022
212-752-1727
www.alvr.com

You can find out more and purchase tickets by clicking here. Thanks so much to the inspiring Jere Ryder for alerting me to this exhibition!

The Midnight Archive Episode 4: The Automata

The Midnight Archive--the new web-based video documentary series "centered around the esoteric and always exotic personalities that spring from Observatory"--has just launched a fantastic new episode, this one based the amazing Guinness Collection of Automata at the Morris Museum; you can view it above by clicking play.

Here is what Ronni Thomas, the film maker behind the series, has to say about this particular episode:

Tucked away, in a quiet and pleasant suberb of New Jersey, there exists one of the most fascinating collections of artistic engineering ever collected. The collection belonged to Murtogh Guinness, of the Guinness brewing company. Its contents are, what I can only describe as the early days of robotics, engineered for our ancestor’s entertainment. Dolls that perform incredible tasks, full orchestras in the middle of your parlor, and my favorite of course, a banjo that plays itself. The collection is maintained and managed by Jere Ryder who began his interest at a very early age. He is now entrusted to the collection at the Morris Museum located in Morristown New Jersey. Keep your eyes on the Brooklyn Observatory as they occasionally take a field trip out. The museum is located at 6 Normandy Heights Road Morristown, NJ and well worth the trip if you are nearby - Jere is not only very knowledgeable on the subject but also a fantastic tour guide... Thanks a ton, Mr. Ryder, we’ll see you soon no doubt!

For more on the series, to see former episodes, or to sign up for the mailing list so as to be alerted to future uploads, visit The Midnight Archive website by clicking here. You can also "like" it on Facebook--and thus be alerted--by clicking here. To find out more about Observatory, click here. To find out more about the Guinness collection at the Morris Museum, click here. There is also a wonderful, highly illustrated catalog for this exhibition, which Morbid Anatomy distributes. More on that here.

PS. To see brand new episodes of The Midnight Archive on the big screen and to meet the filmmaker, please come to the Observatory Halloween/Day of the Dead/Screening party! Click here for more on that.

New Automata Book Now Available: "Musical Machines and Living Dolls" The Guinness Collection at The Morris Museum

The Murtogh D. Guinness Collection at the Morris Museum is an astounding collection of automata (mechanical toys popular in the 18th and 19th century) and mechanical musical instruments that can be visited in--of all surprising places--Morristown, New Jersey. The collection is mind-blowingly vast; it is, in fact, the largest such public collection in the U. S. and one of the largest in the world, with around 700 automata and mechanical musical instruments and over 5,000 programmed media, nearly all of which are were produced in the 19th Century.

The highlight of the Morris Collection--in my opinion, at least!--is its extensive lot of fine 19th Century European automatons. Most of the pieces are in excellent repair and still able to go through their uncanny motions, and the scale, quality, and range of the collection are simply flabbergasting, the kind of thing you might consider yourself lucky to find in France (where many automata producers were based) but certainly not here on the East Coast of the United States.

The Morris Museum has just published a new book devoted to this collection. Entitled Musical Machines and Living Dolls: Mechanical Musical Instruments and Automata from the Murtogh D. Guinness Collection, this book is a lovely little gem all its own; it is hardcover, full color throughout, beautifully printed, and well-researched. It also includes a well-researched overview of the history of automata from ancient times to the present and a biography of Murtogh D. Guinness, the heir to the Guinness beer fortune who amassed this collection and ultimately bequeathed it to the Morris Museum.

The book also--luckily for me!--features extensive text and scores of images (all images above are drawn from the book!) devoted to many of my favorite pieces in the collection, such as a number of 18th Century-style monkey dandies engaging in human activities (images 2, 3 & 4), 3 cats playing cards (image 5), a lute-playing Mephistopholes (image 7), an asp-suiciding Cleopatra (!!!) (image 6), performing tightrope walkers with orchestral accompaniment (image 9), a hookah-smoking Turk, singing birds, strutting peacocks, performing magicians, street vendors peddling their wares, and much, much more.

To give you a taste of the style and level of research to be found in this book, I include here the entire entry for the fascinating piece you see 6 images down, a late 19th century automaton entitled "The Suicide of Cleopatra":

The Suicide of Cleopatra
About 1880-90
Phalibois, Paris, France
37" x 45 1/2" w x 12 1/2" d
2003.18.236a-c

Surrounded by a massive gilt frame, this animated scene would have dominated most parlors of the time. It depicts a highly sensual version of Queen Cleopatra of Egypt's supposed suicide in 30 B.C. When activated, her breast heaves, her eyelids blink--and an asp strikes.

Although made in the late 1800s, the scene reflects a long-standing Western fascination with Egypt, which had been renewed by Napoleon Bonaparte's occupation of the country at the turn of the nineteenth century. Along with tens of thousands of troops, Bonaparte brought with him scientists and scholars who recorded all that they saw. The Description de l'Egypte, which emerged from their research, became a source for artists, designers, architects, and others, and the ensuing widespread fascination spread from everything from furniture to parlor entertainment.

Morbid Anatomy is delighted to be assisting The Morris Museum in the distribution of this lovely and informative book, which contains images and information to be found nowhere else. The cost of the book is $40; shipping and handling within the United States is $5 and shipping and handling for international orders is $15. The book is 10 1/2" X 8 1/2" and runs to about 140 pages. As I am unable to get these books listed on Amazon.com, those interested in ordering a copy can contact me directly at morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com.

You can find out more about the Morris Museum--including how to visit the collection in person!--by clicking here. Also, stay tuned for a soon-to-be-announced second field trip to visit the collection. If interested in receiving an alert, subscribe to the Morbid Anatomy mailing list by adding your email address on the upper left-hand side of this blog under the header "Mailing List of Events, Happenings, and The Like."

All images are drawn from the book and picture, from top to bottom:

1. Book Cover
2. Barrel Reed Organ with Monkey Automata, about 1865
3. Monkey Violinist, about 1855
4. Monkey Dandy, about 1880
5. Cats Playing Cards, about 1900
6. Suicide of Cleopatra, about 1880-1890
7. Mephistopholes (Model No. 1), about 1886-1900
8. Barrel Organ with Animated Figures, about 1820-1840 (detail)
9. Tightrope Dancer and Musicians, about 1875-1885 (detail)
   

Morbid Anatomy Presents This Week at Observatory: Taxidermy and Antique Automata Live and in Person!

Hope to see you there!

Shrinking and Other Acts of Sabotage
An illustrated lecture with Petra Lange-Berndt, University College London
Date: Thursday, July 28th
Time: 8:00 PM
Admission: $5
Presented by Morbid Anatomy

Taxidermy is quite literally the incarnation of trophy culture; It is no coincidence that the 19th Century craze for taxidermy coincided with the emergence of the biological sciences, which were, themselves, strongly tied to colonial interests of exploration, exploitation, classification, and reorganization of the world.

Today, this violent story -- as well as the bulk of 19th Century decorative taxidermy, such as heads on shields, armchairs made out of whole bears, elephant footstools or lamp bases adorned with birds of paradise -- are largely absent from public collections and their institutionalized narratives. Also problematic for the serious student of the medium is that, like art conservators or the editors of texts, taxidermists are only successful if there is no visible trace of their work left in the final product.

Tonight's presentation by Petra Lange-Berndt, author of Animal Art: Specimens in Modern and Contemporary Art Practices, 1850-2000, will chase the stories that are woven into the textures of taxidermy by focusing on the fabrication of the nature/cultures in question, and by asking such questions as what kind of politics are attached to these stilled lifes? And how have the power relations encountered in public natural history collections been challenged by modern and contemporary artists?

Petra Lange-Berndt is a lecturer at the Department of History of Art, University College of London. She has published a book in German on Animal Art: Specimens in Modern and Contemporary Art Practices, 1850-2000 (Silke Schreiber, 2009) and just organised a conference on "Taxidermy and Colonial Practice" at the Natural History Museum, London. She likes all kinds of unpopular arts and B-cultures and was co-curator of an exhibition in three parts on "Sigmar Polke: We Petty Bourgeois! The 1970s" at the Kunsthalle in Hamburg (2009-10); her new research is concerned with artists' colonies and communes.

Photo: Photo from Natural History Museum of Nantes (France), by Julie N. Hascoët

Living Dolls: The Guinness Collection of Mechanical Musical Instruments and Automata at the Morris Museum
A live automata demonstration and illustrated lecture by Jere Ryder, Conservator of the Guinness Collection of Mechanical Musical Instruments and Automata at the Morris Museum
Date: Friday, July 29th
Time: 8:00 PM
Admission: $10
Presented by Morbid Anatomy

The Guinness Collection of Mechanical Musical Instruments and Automata at the Morris Museum in Morristown, New Jersey is one of the finest collections of automata--or moving mechanical toys popular in the 18th Century and 19th Centuries--in the world. Compiled over 50 years by heir to the Guinness beer fortune Murtogh D. Guinness (1913-2002), the collection features scores of immaculately preserved historic automata--many of them produced in 19th Century France--with subjects ranging from snake charmers to magicians, singing birds to anthropomorphic monkeys, Cleopatra in her death throes to a waltz-playing Mephistopheles; it also includes a number of mechanical musical instruments and a variety of programmed media ranging from player piano rolls to pinned cylinders.

Earlier this year, Observatory brought a group to visit this collection in person; for those of you who were unable to join us--or who are hungry more!--we are bringing the automata closer to home. Tonight, we invite you to join Jere Ryder, Conservator of the Guinness Collection of Mechanical Musical Instruments and Automata at the Morris Museum, for a live demonstration of antique automata drawn from both the Guinness Collection and his own personal collection. Mr. Ryder will detail the history of these bewitching toys with an illustrated lecture on their history, show an introductory video, and demonstrate and describe the mechanics that bring them to life.

Bio: As Conservator of the Murtogh D. Guinness Collection of Mechanical Musical Instruments and Automata, Jere Ryder brings a lifetime of involvement within this specialized field. A keen interest developed after being introduced to them by collector parents, whom Mr. Guinness had encountered in the 1950s. He became a family friend, and served as mentor and inspiration for later study within the field. With no specialized teaching institutions dedicated to this particular realm, it was Jere's father, Hughes M. Ryder, who introduced he and his brother to major European families, collections and related museums, assisting his ability to enter into studies/apprenticeships to surviving, established field masters, modern manufacturers and successors of original firms dating to as early as 1800. Throughout junior high and high school he received objects for repair from regional dealers and distributors. He and his brother Stephen created a business partnership in 1973 and since have repaired, restored, appraised and advised for some of the finest collections, acquiring objects on behalf of state and privately-owned museums worldwide, and are internationally renowned for research projects and the ability to source rare instruments offering new paths of study.

Image: “Mechanical Singing Bird Jardiniere,” made by the firm of Bontems, Paris, France, circa 1880 & recently restored

You can find out more--and get directions to Observatory--by clicking here.

Italian Devil Automaton, 15th or 16th Century, From the Wunderkammer of Ludovico Settala

Automata were... theologically and culturally familiar, things with which one could be on easy terms. They were funny, sometimes bawdy, and they were everywhere... Mechanical devils were...rife. Poised in sacristies, they made horrible faces, howled and stuck out their tongues to instill fear in the hearts of sinners. The Satan-machines rolled their eyes and flailed their arms and wings; some even had moveable horns and crowns. A muscular, crank-operated devil with sharply pointed ears and wild eyes remains in residence at the Castello Sforzesco in Milan.
--Jessica Riskin, “Machines in the Garden.” Republics of Letters: A Journal for the Study of Knowledge, Politics, and the Arts 1, no. 2 (April 3, 2010)

In her article "Machines in the Garden," Jessica Riskin discusses the use of automatons for religious purposes. Some of my favorite examples include mechanical devils intended to frighten church visitors into obedience (as shown and quoted above); mechanical passion plays; and a mechanical Christ on the crucifix popular in the 15th Century, which was able

to bow down and lifte up it selfe, to shake and stirre the handes and feete, to nod the head, to rolle the eies, to wag the chaps, to bende the browes, ... and gathering a frowning, forward, and disdainful face, when it would pretend offence: and shewing a most milde, amiable, and smyling cheere and countenaunce, when it woulde seeme to be well pleased. --William Lambarde, A Perambulation of Kent: Conteining the Description, Hystorie, and Customes of that Shire. Written in the Yeere 1570. by William Lambarde of Lincolns Inne Gent

I highly encourage you to read this fascinating article in its entirety; you can do so by clicking here.

Images: Italian Automaton (The Devil), carved in wood, 15th and 16th centuries, from the Wunderkammer owned by Ludovico Settala. It could, in the words of the Cosmodromium Blog, "roll its eyes and move its tongue, emit a noise and spit smoke from the mouth." Images sourced here.

All images and ideas sourced from the Cosmodromium Blog; read whole post--and see additional images--by clicking here.

FIELD TRIP: Guided Tour and Behind the Scenes Viewing of The Murtogh D. Guinness Automaton Collection at the Morris Museum in Morristown, New Jersey

Field trip, anyone?

FIELD TRIP: Guided Tour and Behind the Scenes Viewing of The Murtogh D. Guinness Automaton Collection at the Morris Museum in Morristown, New Jersey
Date: Sunday, February 20th
Time: 12 PM - 4 PM (Bus pickup and drop-off at Observatory)
Admission: $45
*** MUST RSVP to morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com
*** PLEASE NOTE: Trip limited to a maximum of 30 attendees; Admission fee Includes round trip transportation via chartered bus, tour cost, a Guinness beer, and museum admission.

Many people have no idea that one of the finest collections of antique automata--moving mechanical toys popular in the 18th Century and 19th Centuries-- in the world resides not in London or Paris but 25 miles away from New York City in Morristown, New Jersey.

This collection--compiled over 50 years by Murtogh D. Guinness (1913-2002), heir to the Guinness beer fortune--consists of 700 historic automata and mechanical musical instruments as well as more than 5,000 programmed media, ranging from player piano rolls to pinned cylinders. Guinness regarded the collection as his life’s work, and he traveled the globe to search of the finest surviving pieces of their kind. Many of the automata in the collection were made in France in the 19th Century and represent a broad array of subjects including snake charmers, magicians, singing birds, musicians, animals, and anthropomorphic monkeys enacting a variety of human situations. Together, these objects constitute one of the largest public holdings of automata in the United States.

On Sunday, February 20th, join Observatory and Morbid Anatomy for a special guided tour of this incredible collection, one of the most significant of its kind in the world. Guinness Collection Conservator Jeremy Ryder will lead us on an hour-long tour of the collection; on this tour, he will guide us through of the permanent exhibit Musical Machines & Living Dolls featuring 150 pieces from the spectacular collection, explain the techniques and history of these incredible objects, demonstrate automata in action, and show us pieces rarely on display to the general public.

After the tour, attendees will be given approximately an hour of free time with which to take in the other exhibitions at the museum such as Frank H. Netter, MD Michelangelo of Medicine--featuring more than 40 works of art by this acclaimed master of medical illustrations--and the museum's excellent permanent collection which includes costumes and textiles, fine art, decorative art, dolls and toys, natural science, geology and paleontology, and anthropology; more about the museum can be found at www.morrismuseum.org.

At the day's end, our chartered bus will pick up us and we will enjoy a toast to Mr. Guinness and his fantastic collection with a Guinness beer (naturally!) on our drive back to New York City.

Trip Details: The $45 event cost of this event includes round trip transportation on a special chartered bus from Observatory to the Morris Museum in Morristown, New Jersey and back again, as well as museum admission, tour cost, and one Guinness beer per person. The bus will pick up and drop off in front of Observatory (543 Union Street at Nevins Street). Pick up is 12:00 noon sharp and drop off approximately 4:00 PM. Attendees will have approximately 1 hour of free time to view the rest of the museum collection.

More info here.

Image: Clown Illusionist Automaton; Made by Jean or Henry Phalibois, Paris, France, c. 1890-1900 "], from The Murtogh D. Guinness Automaton Collection

A Brief History of Automata, An Illustrated Lecture and Demonstration by Mike Zohn, Obscura Antiques and Oddities, TONIGHT! Coney Island Museum

Tonight is night three of the Congress for Curious People! To celebrate, come to the Coney Island Museum at 7:00 PM to see Mike Zohn--of the inimitable Obscura Antiques and Oddities-- as he demonstrates and explains the workings of his 19th Century bird-taxidermy automaton, which aficionados might remember from last Carnivorous Nights Taxidermy Contest; (see bottom image to jog your memory).

To accompany the demonstration, Mike will give an illustrated lecture about the fascinating, surprising, and sometimes nefarious history of automata. And--added bonus--there will also be half-price drinks at the bar till 7! Full details follow; hope to see you there!

A Brief History of Automata
An Illustrated Lecture and Demonstration by Mike Zohn, Obscura Antiques and Oddities
Date: Wednesday, April 14th (Tonight!)
Time: 7:00 PM
LOCATION: The Coney Island Museum
In this illustrated lecture, Obscura Antique and Oddities‘ Mike Zohn will demonstrate his 19th Century taxidermy automata, as featured in last year’s Carnivorous Nights Taxidermy Contest. He will explain its curious mechanisms, and, in an illustrated lecture, will introduce us to the history of these fascinating uncanny machines, tracing their trajectory from tools of religious coercion to prince’s plaything to Disney’s imagineering experiments.

Mike Zohn is co-proprietor of Obscura Antique and Oddities. He fixes automata in his spare time.

For information about the Coney Island Museum--including address and directions--click here. For more about the Congress for Curious People--under whose auspices this event is included--click here. To find out more about the larger Congress of Curious Peoples click here. Click here to download a hi-res copy of the broadside invitation.

Bottom image: Mike Zohn with his Bird Automaton at the Carnivorous Nights Taxidermy Contest; from the Flickr page of tenebrouskate; click here to see more.

"Kinetica: An Exhibition of Automata, Kinetica, Mechanica, Robotics, and New Media," Call for Works

This looks like it could be a really great show. Please help spread the word to any interested artsy/engineering/builder types! Call for works follows:

* EXHIBITION ANNOUNCEMENT & CALL TO ARTISTS *

Please note: This is not a typical art show. Not all participants are artists. Inventors, mechanics, and people who ordinarily have nothing to do with the art world are involved in this exhibition. That said, I encourage artists to make use of their whimsy. This show is about wonder, as well as craft, science, mathematics, and experimentation.

"Kinetica" is an exhibition of kinetic, automatic, mechanic, robotic, &etc. sculpture.

It will be held at the Candle Factory in New Orleans. The two main events are the opening on Saturday, April 24, and the closing on Saturday, May 8. The events are scheduled to begin at 6pm.

Proposals-only deadline: March 20th. Send idea, space required, special requirements, etc. to Myrtle von Damitz lll at myrtlered@gmail.com

I will consider late proposals but must begin to map out the installation as early as possible.

INSTALLATION will begin on Saturday, April 17. Artists are responsible for installation. Work that has to be shipped must include detailed installation instructions, and arrive by April 17.

Also important: whether your piece can only be run by you, its creator, or whether I or anyone else running the exhibition can turn it on when needed.

Participants are responsible for display arrangements, ie: tables, pedestals, etc.

The Candle Factory is a warehouse situated on the west side of the Industrial Canal, and is a known events destination & a good crowd is expected. There is a great electrical set-up and room both inside and outside for a wide variety of work. The owner, Charles Handler, lives inside the warehouse and security is good. However, please take note that this IS a warehouse space and not a pristine gallery.

The show will not run on regular gallery hours, but will be on in full force for both opening and closing events, leaving room for multiple event-specific possibilities. I would like very much to find anyone or any group working on Rube Goldberg Machines!

I'm working towards arranging school field trips to view the work and for the artists to speak to the kids about their ideas and how they work. If you are part of the show, I'd like to know if I can schedule you to be present on any of these days (TBA!).

I will be able to work out showings by appointment, as well, for however many pieces can be operable during the run of the show.

Questions: myrtlered@gmail.com or 504 908 4741

Image: Vaucanson's mechanical duck. More on that wonderful 18th Century creation, which "could flap its wings, eat, and digest grain," here.

Kircher Society Essential Library of Automata

An encyclopedic list of books on the history, art, and science of the automaton compiled by Dug North, Kircher Society Resident Automatist and the author of The Automata/Automaton Blog. Check out the list here. Find out more about the art and history of automata here, here, and here.

Above video of automaton from the Automatomania website. Description of video, from YouTube: "A late 19th century stage automaton, designed to be driven by a hand crank from under the stage. She is larger than life. Made of Papier Mache, she moves her eyes, eyelids, head turn and nod, heaving chest, bend at waist, cross legs, both arms and right wrist."