Automata: The Golden Age 1848-1914

Here is an excerpt from the List of Essential Automata Books I compiled and reviewed as part of my role as Kircher Society Resident Automatist.

Bailly, Christian. Automata: The Golden Age, 1848-1914. 2nd ed. London: Robert Hale, 2003.
Do not mistake this large volume for a coffee table book with little substance. Christian Bailly recounts the history of seven influential French automata makers of the Victorian era, including Vichy, Roullet & Decamp, Phalibois, and Lambert. Within the hardbound 360 pages, the reader will delight in 150 color photographs and numerous black-and-white drawings and photographs. There are chapters dedicated to automata mechanisms and to the restoration of vintage automata.

Check back here or to Amazon.com often: you maybe able to find this book at a more reasonable price. Here's a link to Automata: The Golden Age 1848-1914