Wild Contemporary Magician Automaton on eBay

Here is a very interesting automaton depicting a contemporary magician performing a trick. The image is a bit small, but the magician appears to make a rabbit disappear or else turn into another animal It is hard to tell exactly which.

Similar automata I have heard about have a concealed item turn into something else. This piece looks quite complex with a lot of activity to supplement the actual magic trick being performed. Just take a look at all those gears and linkages!

Here is the listing on eBay for the Contemporary Magician Automaton.

Stumble It!

Chinese Magician Automaton - Auction

This is one of the many automata that will be auctioned by Skinner Auctioneers in Bolton, Massachusetts on October 28th, 2007.

Nick Hawkins -- Skinner's resident music box/scientific instrument/automata expert -- was kind enough to give me a live demonstration of this piece.

It is quite large and the sequence surprisingly long. Overall, one of the most remarkable pieces I have ever seen.

Visit Skinner's site to learn more about the upcoming Science & Technology Auction and the preview dates.

Stumble It!

Reader Contribution: The Magician

This week's Reader Contribution comes from Tony who writes that he has just started making automata and would like some constructive criticism.

When I make an automaton with a very simple mechanism, I consider hiding it in order to showcase the figure and its action. I did this with my piece An Interesting Specimen. Tony could consider making a stage to set the scene for his magician. Then again, there is a long tradition of showing the mechanisms, no matter how simple.

It is worth noting that Tony did something that is hard to do: he got a rather complex set of motions from a simple input motion. Well done!

For a book on how to make wooden automata, see Rodney Frost's
Making Mad Toys & Mechanical Marvels in Wood. Frost is particularly good at making stages or sets to hold his mechanisms.

Stumble It!