Video of the Mysterious Chess-playing Automaton

I wrote recently about the Clockwork Game, the amazing graphic novel about The Turk.

Here is video footage of the mysterious chess-playing automaton created in 1770 by Hungarian nobleman Wolfgang von Kempelen.

For more details about The Turk you might check out:

• The Wikipedia entry for The Turk
• The Turk: The Life and Times of the Famous Eighteenth-Century Chess-Playing Machine
• Edison's Eve: A Magical History of the Quest for Mechanical Life
• Chess Man VS Machine
• The Illustrated History of Magic

Bibliography from Clockwork Game web site.

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Graphic Novel about The Turk Chess Automaton

Clockwork Game is a graphic dramatization of the historical events surrounding one of the famous automata known as The Turk. Constructed by Hungarian nobleman Wolfgang von Kempelen, The Turk amazed audiences for decades on several continents by playing (and besting) many human competitors at the game of chess. Or, did it...?

Written and illustrated by Jane Irwin, a new installment of Clockwork Game is available every Thursday. Not only is this true story captivating, it is well-illustrated in a crosshatched pen-and-ink style. The graphic novel will ultimately be available in many formats including print.

The Clockwork Game web site has a wealth of great information about The Turk.

Here's were you can start to read Clockwork Game from the beginning.

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A History of the Quest to Make Mechanical Life

Originally published in the United Kingdom as Living Dolls, this book will be fascinating to those interested in the history of automata. As suggested in the subtitle –– "A Magical History of the Quest for Mechanical Life" –– the author explores the motives of people who have made automata, androids, and robots through the ages.

This is a very well-researched account of humankind's ongoing efforts to simulate, emulate, and duplicate living things in mechanical form. A rich intellectual and cultural history, this book provides a context for understanding why automata have been created in the first place.

This book was included in my Kircher Society Essential Library of Automata list.

You can search inside many pages of Edison's Eve: A Magical History of the Quest for Mechanical Lifeon Amazon.com.

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Vaudville Automaton Enigmarelle - a Hoax?

There is an running theme in the history of automata, to create -- or fake -- lifelike creations (for the latter, see The Turk, Chess-Playing Machine).

The recent BoingBoing.net post about an automaton from the 1900s by the name of Enigmarelle looks to be another hoax.

The source of their post is the VITAPHONE VARIETIES blog.

It seems a bit too good to be true...an automaton adept at so many different things. I have nothing but respect for engineers, machinists, and craftsmen of the past, but this thing rivals ASIMO in its abilities.

Follow the links and decide for yourself. If you know more about the history of Enigmarelle, post a comment and let us know!

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Magic -themed Automaton to be Auctioned

Here is another installment in my ongoing behind-the-scenes sneak peek of the automata that will be auctioned by Skinner Auctioneers on March 24th in Boston.

This is a large coin-operated piece -- it takes the large old-style English penny. It features a clown with a fan. When the coin is inserted, music begins to play, and he covers his face with the fan.

Next, he raises the front panel on the box next to him to reveal...his head!

He pulls the fan away to reveal that his entire head is missing.The cycle then reverses until the machine stops running.

This piece was made by the younger Phalibois. (See Christian Bailly's Automata: The Golden Age, 1848-1914 for more information on Phalibois and other famous automaton makers of this era.)

Learn more about the auction in March at Skinner's website

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Skinner Automata Auction, March 24th, 2007

Here are some more details on the upcoming auction by Skinner Auction house.

The auction will take place on 24th of March, 2007 in Park Plaza, Boston.

Pictured here is another interesting automaton that will be in the sale (left). It's a wall-mounted picture-style automaton, from the 1800s.

The automaton depicts a colorful scene in a blacksmith's shop with men working at the forge, a tail-wagging dog, and a farrier shoeing a horse.

The entire thing is driven by a music box and clever assemblage of pulleys in the back (see second photo at left).

Additional details about the auction will be online at www.skinnerinc.com.

Check back here in the coming weeks for more information.

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Video of Life Size Elephant Automaton

I posted recently about a full-size walking elephant automaton. Here is some video of this amazing automaton in action.



Thanks to Tim Trager for the video

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More on the Antikythera Mechanism

The journal Nature and the NYT have more this month on the Antikythera Mechanism which I posted about here back in September.

From the article in the NYT:
The mechanism, presumably used in preparing calendars for seasons of planting and harvesting and fixing religious festivals, had at least 30, possibly 37, hand-cut bronze gear-wheels, the researchers reported. An ingenious pin-and-slot device connecting two gear-wheels induced variations in the representation of lunar motions according to the Hipparchos model of the Moon’s elliptical orbit around Earth.

That's just amazing. This would be a huge accomplishment if someone made this today wih the aid of the internet, books from the last two thousand years, computers, and CNC milling machines. Bear in mind, they believe this was made around 150-100 B.C.!

Here's the New York Times article on The Antikythera Mechanism

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Scholarly Chapter on the History of Automata

The book is entitled Crescendo of the Virtuoso: Spectacle, Skill, and Self-Promotion in Paris during the Age of Revolution by Paul Metzner.

Though chapter 5 is titled, "Robert-Houdin and the Vogue of the Automaton-Builders", it actually covers a much broader swatch of history including Robert-Houdin's predecessors.

This is a 28 page chapter with a few illustrations and a long list of endnotes.

Read about Robert-Houdin and the automata-makers before him

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The Antikythera Mechanism

Long suspected as being an astronomical showpiece, navigational instrument or rich man's toy, the Antikythera Mechanism is a bronze mechanism built before the birth of Christ.

New research has convinced scholars in Greece that it is, in fact, the world's oldest analog computer.

Here's the recent news article: Revealed: world's oldest computer

And here is the Wikipediea article on The Antikythera Mechanism

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Mechanical Man from 1932

File it under 'robots' if you want, but it's an automaton to me! This is from Modern Mechanix November, 1932 via one of my favorite blogs -- Modern Mechanix.

Mechanical Radio Man Talks, Sings, Walks, and Rolls Eyes

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