Today is the last chance to pre-bid on Theriault's

You can register to bid live online with real-time video and sound feed to make you feel as if you were at the auction itself.

If you are interested in following the auction or bidding online, it is important to pre-register today.

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Magician Automaton - Conjuror with Six Secrets

I am particularly fond of automata featuring magicians. Here's a piece in the upcoming Theriault's auction that is a classic. This is another piece by Michel Bertrand -- successor to the famous Vichy/Triboulet/JAF lineage.

From the catalog description:

In his right hand, he holds the top of a large, red conjuring cup and in his left hand is a white magic wand. Movements and Music. While music plays, the Clown nods and looks around him. He blinks and moves his mouth as if talking to an assembled crowd of on-lookers, and waves his magic wand. As he raises and lowers the upturned red cup, objects appear and disappear in six successions: mouse, jewelry, flowers, goldfish, dice and bird in a cage. The movements are executed with grace and dexterity, directed by a large clockwork mechanism with eight cams hidden within the base. The six-tune musical movement is an antique one of good quality.

The auction on November 23rd, 2008 will be at the Westin Governor Morris in Morristown, New Jersey. A preview will be held on the 22nd from 6 to 8 PM as well as from 9 to 11 AM on the 23rd. The collection can be viewed and bid upon online also.

Here is the full description of The Clown Conjuror w/Six Secrets.

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Theriault's automata auction book with essays

Even if you do not bid on a gorgeous antique automaton or attend Theriault's upcoming automata auction, you can still own a piece of this event in the form the auction catalog.

The catalog -- a hardcover book, really -- features a hologram of the "Kneeling Egyptian Harpist" on the front. Of course, the book contains detailed descriptions for the 150+ fine automata that are in the auction. But it goes far beyond being just a catalog because it also features a series of essays on various common automata themes. The essays deal with the great outdoors, exoticism, spectacle, theater, and occupational themes.

I am told that there is something for everyone here -- including magic automata, very complex clock automata, and the earliest animated window displays.

Here is where you can order Theriault's auction catalogs, including the one for the upcoming automata auction.

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Theriault's to auction automata on Nov. 23, 2008

Theriault's will be having a large auction of automata on November 23, 2008. The collection of Jerry and Bunny Steinbaum is to be auctioned. The Steinbaums collected for over 20 years, traveling to France, England, and New York to acquire an amazing collection of very rare and fine automata.

There will be more posts over the next few days about this extraordinary event and the treasures that will be for sale.

Here is a great article that presents an overview of the collection and the event.