The good people at Dark Roasted Blend have produced a magnificent collection of photographs of historic automated figures, robots and curiosities. Here are a few examples.
From 1543, John Dee and his flying wooden beetle
From 1738, Jacques de Vaucanson's gilded copper duck. It could sit,
stand, quack, play in water, and even appeared to eat and excrete food.
stand, quack, play in water, and even appeared to eat and excrete food.
This amazing piece, known as the Joueuse de Tympanon, was built for French
queen Marie Antoinette in 1772. It was damaged during the French Revolution
(as was its owner, of course), and restored in 1864 by Jean Robert-Houdin.
A video showing it in operation is linked below.
queen Marie Antoinette in 1772. It was damaged during the French Revolution
(as was its owner, of course), and restored in 1864 by Jean Robert-Houdin.
A video showing it in operation is linked below.
A wooden automaton showing an Indian tiger attacking a British colonial soldier.
It dates from the 1790's, and was made by French craftsmen for Tipu Sultan of
Mysore, who was fiercely anti-British. He used the tiger as his symbol. He died
in combat against British forces in 1799, and his kingdom fell into British hands.
It dates from the 1790's, and was made by French craftsmen for Tipu Sultan of
Mysore, who was fiercely anti-British. He used the tiger as his symbol. He died
in combat against British forces in 1799, and his kingdom fell into British hands.
There are many more examples at the link. Very interesting and highly recommended viewing.
While researching the images shown above, and finding more information for the links provided, I also came across this Web site. It's French, but provides an English version. It describes itself thus:
This website is a tribute to the talented European watchmakers and technicians, who, through the 18th and 19th centuries, tried to discover the secrets of life by giving birth to extraordinary creatures of great mechanical complexity: automatons and androids created by Vaucanson and the Jaquet-Droz family, talking heads created by Abbot Mical, the fake automaton and the talking machine by the Baron von Kempelen, clock automatons by the Maillardet brothers, writer automaton by Von Knauss, android automaton by Kintzing, tricked automatons by Robert-Houdin, 'pygmy' automaton by Stèvenard...
Also very interesting reading, and highly recommended if you, like me, are interested in this sort of thing.
Peter
I've always thought it interesting that the French devised incredibly sophisticated mechanical devices ... for the entertainment of the French nobility.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile the English invented the Industrial Revolution.