For Amusement Only: Arcades and Cafes -- exhibit at the Morris Museum

The news story in the video above reports on the new exhibit at the Morris Museum titled For Amusement Only: Arcades and Cafes. The exhibit explores the fascinating world of coin-operated entertainment from the early twentieth century. Visitors will see fortune-tellers, strength testers, penny arcades and gambling machines, as well as mechanical musical instruments.

The exhibit runs through October 10, 2016

Special demonstration dates:
Special Exhibit Demonstration, Saturday, July 23, 1:00PM
Special Exhibit Demonstration, Friday, August 12, 3:00PM
Special Exhibit Demonstration, Monday, October 10, 1:00PM
Curator’s Tour, Thursday, September 15, 6:30PM

Location:
Morris Museum
6 Normandy Heights Road
Morristown, NJ 07960
Phone: (973) 971-3700
Online: http://www.morrismuseum.org

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Video of AutomataCon 2016 at the Morris Museum

Here are a few clips to give you a sense for the magical experience that was AutomataCon 2016 held at the Morris Museum in Morristown, New Jersey. The event was the first of its kind in recent memory and exceeded all expectations. Attendees included new makers, experienced artists, historians, authors, restorers, collectors, magicians, special effects experts, horologists, and educators. Simply put, it was an incredible event!

Visit www.automatacon.org to learn more about this amazing event.

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AutomataCon - Event for automata artists and enthusiasts a huge success

The first automaton-themed convention, AutomataCon, took place last weekend in Morristown, New Jersey. The event brought together hundreds of artists, collectors, historians, educators, and enthusiasts of automata and other forms of kinetic art. I haven't been to many conventions, but I can say that this one was truly great.

The two day event was held at the lovely the Morris Museum in Morristown, New Jersey. If you haven't visited the museum you might wonder why the convention was held there. The reason is straightforward and compelling: it is home to the Murtogh D. Guinness Collection of Mechanical Musical Instruments and Automata -- one of the largest and important collections of its kind. Attendees could view the collection throughout the course of the event.

The stated goal of the convention was to gather people from around the world to share ideas, build relationships, and grow interest in automata new and old. In my personal experience, that is precisely what happened. There was a lot of energy all around as people met one another and shared projects, knowledge, and ideas.

The convention programming was outstanding, with two parallel tracks which ensured that there was something for people with different interests and experience levels. I was pleased to be part of two panel discussions. The first was a question and answer session with modern artists who included Tom Haney, Thomas Kuntz, Steve Armstrong, and Cecilia Schiller. The second panel was on the use of horological tools and techniques for making automata. This panel included Brittany Nicole Cox, Thomas Kuntz, and David Lindow. I am honored to have sat beside each and every one of these panelists. Other presentations at the conference included a rare film and talks on restoration, history, magic, and the making of automata.

The event included some very big names from many fields and universal enthusiasm. It was a unique, educational, and inspiring event. I would do it all over again in a hearbeat. Hats off to event founder Brett King for his good work. Thanks to Jere Ryder and the Morris Museum for being key partners is this extraordinary event. Thanks also to the panelists who made the event so fun and informative. Finally, thank you to everyone who attended. You made the event great.

If you want to share an experience from AutomataCon, I encourage you to leave a comment below.

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AutomataCon: a new convention for artists, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts of automata

There is an upcoming event that EVERYONE who reads this blog should know about. The event? AutomataCon. That's right...a convention for us! The press release below says it all. I will be there. I hope you will too!

AutomataCon is a newly conceived convention of and for artists, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts of automatons and related kinetic art. It is a three day event being held March 18th – 20th, 2016 at and in conjunction with the Morris Museum in Morristown, New Jersey, home of the Murtogh D. Guinness Collection of Mechanical Musical Instruments and Automata.

The goal of the convention is to gather people from around the world to share ideas, build relationships, and grow interest in automata new and old. As can be seen from our ever-growing Attendee Gallery, beginners as well as some of the premier artists, collectors, historians, and authors in the automaton community from around the world plan to be in attendance. The convention will include a variety of private and public programming, including: social gatherings, museum tours, panel discussions, live demonstrations, workshops, presentations, and an exhibition. There will also be a premier showing of the extremely rare 1928 film, Le Monde des Automates, in the museum’s Bickford Theatre. Originally created as a typical period silent film using hand-driven cameras, an accompanying sound track was added shortly thereafter, making this one of the first Swiss-made sound films. About 25-30 minutes in length, it was intended to accompany Alfred Chapuis & Eduard Gélis’ foundational 2 volume book by the same title, and documents some extremely rare automata plus a truly unique mechanical musical instrument, the Violinista by Boreau & Aubry (1918-22), in action. A fabulous historical document!

The idea for a convention stemmed from the fellowship shown on the Automata / Automaton Group and Mechanical Adventures group on Facebook. The true value of the convention will be the relationships built and knowledge shared when passionate people of common interest come together. As such, the success of the convention will depend on the attendees themselves. In the end, we are optimistic that great things will come. Please join the Facebook event page for the latest news on the convention.

Visit the event website for more details and to make your reservations.

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Book: Figures in the Fourth Dimension by Ellen Rixford

Jere Ryder, Conservator of the Guinness Collection (of automata and mechanical music) at the Morris Museum wrote to let us know of an important new book on automata. Here's what he wrote:

I think that many of your readers will be interested to learn that there is an exhaustive, 512 page hardcover publication just released: Figures in the Fourth Dimension authored by Ellen Rixford. Over the past 3-4 years the Morris Museum participated in the creation of this book, focusing mainly on the 19th century automata chapter. Throughout the book, the author explains in extraordinary detail how the internal mechanisms of mechanical puppets, marionettes and automata were and are today designed and created. Every cam, lever & linkage is revealed in detailed photographs, exploded view illustrations, and full mechanical descriptions. For any technician, restorer, conservator or contemporary automata or puppetry artist/builder, this reference piece will be required reading.

That's high praise from a very knowledgeable source folks!

This book is now available in the Morris Museum Shop and can no be ordered through our Museum Shop webpage (http://www.morrismuseum.org/museum-shop), or directly from the author’s website (http://www.figuresinthefourthdimension.com/html/Automata-clockwork.html).

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News segment about the Guinness Collection of automata and mechanical music in New Jersey

Here is a segment on the Morris Museum that was broadcast by WMBC-TV in the New York City & northern New Jersey area last weekend. The first two-thirds of the video is on the mechanical music instruments, and the rest is about the automata. Not only do we get to see and hear some of these wonderful machines, but we also get some valuable commentary from the both the Conservator and Curators of the collection. Ever wonder why so many of the old automata feature monkeys dressed up in fancy cloths? Watch the video to find out why!

Here is where you can learn more about the Morris Museum in Morristown, New Jersey

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See the automata from the Murtogh D. Guinness collection for Obscura Day 2015!

Here is an invite from the Morris Museum to see some of their automata for Obscura Day on May 30th, 2015:

In celebration of Obscura Day 2015, the Guinness Collection Curator and Conservator invite you to the Morris Museum for an interesting and unique demonstration program of clown automata! Come and delight in the fantastical doings of the incredible clowns, jesters and harlequins from the Guinness Collection. Then join us for a private tour behind the locked doors of the Guinness Viewable storage area, where over 500 more mechanical musical instruments and automata live!

The ticket price includes admission to the museum and the opportunity to join the public daily demonstration of the Guinness Collection at 2pm.

Event Details:
Date: Saturday, May 30; 12:30-2:00pm
Price: $25
Location: Morris Museum, 6 Normandy Heights Road, Morristown, NJ 07960
Web site: www.morrismuseum.org
Tickets: available from Eventbrite

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Musical Machines and Living Dolls: The Murtogh D. Guinness Collection of Mechanical Musical Instruments and Automata

Yesterday's post reminded me to remind you about this book I posted about back in 2011. The Morris Museum in Morristown, NJ is home to the Guinness Collection of 750 antique, mechanical musical instruments and automata. It is one of the biggest, best, and most well-managed collections I know of.

The museum has created an illustrated book featuring pieces from its permanent exhibition titled Musical Machines and Living Dolls: The Murtogh D. Guinness Collection of Mechanical Musical Instruments and Automata. Written by Ellen M. Snyder-Grenier (former Curator of the Guinness Collection), this 144-page hardcover features 138 photographs and over 20 illustrations on beautiful glossy paper.

Evenly divided between automata and mechanical musical instruments, the book is a wealth of information on the history of both. It is a beautiful and well-written book, which offers a rich view of an extremely important collection. I recommend it. It makes a great gift for those with a serious interest in the subject.

Here is where you can order Musical Machines and Living Dolls.

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Ro-Bow - a robot that plays a real violin

Seth Goldstein dropped me a line to let us know about a machine he created which plays tunes on a real a violin. This mechanical wonder was recently featured in the New York Times. Here is a link to the article on Seth Goldstein's RO-BOW. In the video, Goldstein explains the basic components of the machine and how they work together make the machine perform musical magic.

Machines that play the violin are not new -- some may be seen at The Morris Museum in New Jersey. Check out the wonderful book on the collection called Musical Machines and Living Dolls. Still, Goldstein's robot is of a differnet, more modern variety, capable of replicating any tune that can play on a keyboard. It works on some very unique and ingenious principles. Truly amazing.

You can find out more about Seth Goldstein on his web site, which has information and video showing his other pieces Why Knot? and Cram Guy.

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Behind-the-scenes tour of the mechanical wonders at the Morris Museum

The Morris Museum in Morristown, New Jersey has announced a special "Behind Locked Doors" event. The event will feature a special staff-guided tour and demonstration of instruments and automata from the famous Guinness Collection. Visitors will see mechanical marvels that are not normally heard or exhibited in the galleries. This behind the scenes tour includes a visit to the museum's incredible Viewable Storage facility where a large portion of the collection is stored.

What:
Guinness Spotlight: Behind Locked Doors

Where:
Morris Museum
6 Normandy Heights Road
Morristown, NJ  07960
publicrelations@morrismuseum.org 
http://www.morrismuseum.org

When:
Thursday, November 20, 3:00-4:30pm
Thursday, November 20, 6:30-8:00pm

How:
Tickets: Members - $7 / Non-Members - $9
Attendance will be limited. Call 973.971.3706 to reserve a seat.

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Complex sand-powered magician automaton made largely of paper performs like clockwork versions

Jeremie Ryder, Conservator of the Guinness Collection at the Morris Museum recently passed this fascinating link on to me with some information. The video shows a fairly complex automaton performing the classic cups and balls magic routine. What makes this remarkable is that it is powered by sand and made largely of paper. Ryder goes on to explain it's other interesting aspects:

...an unusual and somewhat complex sand toy, which incorporates a program barrel -- the first I think I've seen like this. There is no name associated with it, but I'd guess at possibly French origin, circa 1860-90. There's hardly any solid research or articles about the history, makers, or countries of origin. One of the main high-end sellers of these was at the Palais Royal in Paris, Pierre Landras, a toy merchant, operating around the 1830's to 50's period.

He goes on to note that this Conjurer is reminiscent of a clockwork-driven automaton because there is more friction involved in moving the multiple levers needed to read the barrel, actuate the objects, as well as the figure's arms and head. A similar example is depicted in an old book on magic effects (shown below).

The book is a classic on stage illusions performed by Robert-Houdin, Bautier de Kolta, Maskelyne, and others. Containing over 400 illustrations, it features detailed descriptions of techniques of fire eaters, sword swallowers, jugglers, acrobats. Most interesting to readers of this blog would be the sections on ancient magic and automata.

Here is where you can get Magic: Stage Illusions, Special Effects and Trick Photography.

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Two great antique automata collections in the United States

Here is a video on automata by CNN. In it you will meet Charles Penniman and the famous Maillardet automaton housed at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. Mr. Penniman has been looking after this precious automaton for over 40 years. I had the pleasure of meeting both back in 2009, and am fond of both the man and the machine. I even got to wind the machine -- not something that every visitor gets to do. Here's a blog post about my visit to see the Maillardet automaton in 2009.

You will also get to meet Jeremy Ryder of the Morris Museum in Morristown, New Jersey where he looks after the Murtogh D. Guinness collection of automata. If you have a chance, this collection is worth a visit. Ryder's expertise is a rare thing.

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Clown Illusionist automaton by Phalibois performs bizarre decapitation routine

Back in December I posted about magician Pierre Mayer's new clown automaton. In the post, I explained that the illusion is a venerable one and made reference to a similar piece by Phalibois. Here is the Phalibois automaton in question.

Like Mayer's piece, this automaton depicts a clown doing a famous decapitation illusion. Because it is a much large piece, it incorporates a music box which also served to drive the mechanism. There are also a few other added surprises in store for the viewer. The automaton was made in Paris by either Henri or Jean Phalibois somewhere between 1890 and 1900. The entire things measures 33-1/2" high by 15-3/4" wide by 19-1/8" deep.

This delightful pieces is located at The Morris Museum, part of the Murtogh D. Guinness Collection of Automatic Musical Instruments & Automata housed there.

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Music box discovered to be the source for two tunes from the opera Madame Butterfly

Legend had it that Puccini, composer of the the famous Japanese-themed opera Madame Butterfly, was inspired by melodies he heard from a Japanese music box. For over one hundred years, historians have searched in vain for the Japanese music box that Puccini heard. Musicologist Tony Shepard, on a recent chance visit to the Morris Museum in New Jersey, heard something quite surprising. Among the dozens of automata and mechanical music machines housed at this extraordinary museum, Shepard happened to listen to a Chinese music box. Something familiar caught his ear. A discovery was made in that moment. As research continues, it seems more and more likely that a music box now at the Morris Museum is the very one Puccini heard. Not only do two of the tunes match those in Madame Butterfly, the ownership of the box can be traced to the composer. Cryptic symbols inside the mechanism of the music box look like those often penned by Puccini himself.

The Morris Museum features an exhibition of over 150 pieces from the world-renowned Murtogh D. Guinness collection of mechanical musical instruments and automata.

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Le Buffet Magique (The Magic Cupboard) automaton circa 1910

The antique automaton shown here is titled Le Buffet Magique which translates as "The Magic Cupboard". According to the video, the piece was probably made by Auguste Triboulet for the Vichy firm in Paris around 1910.

The scene features a young boy perched on a hutch -- probably somewhere he's not supposed to be. He opens the door to the cupboard and a fly disappears within. As the boy reaches for the jar of currant jelly (I think), the face of his omnipresent grandmother appears to warn him away. The boy defiantly sticks his tongue out at the old lady. There seems to be an unusual fascination with tongues in many of the old French automata. I haven't figured out why that is yet. Having been thwarted from his attempt at the jelly, the boy is consoled by the sight of a mouse climbing a nearby apple. To my eye the scene is a bit more bizarre than magical. Certainly, it is humorous. Regardless of your particular interpretation, it is an amazing piece with a lot of interesting figures and motions.

This historical automaton is just one of hundreds housed at the Morris Museum, home to the Murtogh D. Guinness collection of automatic musical instruments and automata. The info is at the end of the video. You may also visit the Morris Museum web site for more information.

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Among the automata at the Morris Museum in New Jersey

The Paris Review recently featured a great article on the the Morris Museum and its fascinating collection of automata and mechanical music machines.

From the article Among the Automata:

The collection's permanent exhibit, more whimsical than steampunk in aesthetic, attracts huge numbers of schoolchildren during the week. Even empty, though, it felt busy, alive with click and chime and jingle. The sound is artificial: the objects are designed to move, but in a museum setting and for conservation purposes, they mainly can't. Behind their glass cases, the automata look more or less like dolls, albeit gorgeous in a kind of Baudelairean "old acrobat" way. But the museum provides videos in which the visitor can watch them move: the blinking calfskin eyelids, lips pulling back over a mouth of sharpened teeth, jointed fingertips tapping as they meander over a flute. There are animals, too: suede pigs with bellows inside them so they squeal while walking around on their little wheeled feet, a wind-up peacock that spreads its real feathered tail, a mournful-looking tiger that jerks suddenly upright.

Here is where you can read the full article Among the Automata by Jenny Hendrix.

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Automata presentation will address the question: conservation or restoration?

More than a year ago, the Morris Museum initiated a program of one-hour, evening "Spotlight" presentations, each focusing on a different aspect of the Murtogh D. Guinness collection. Specific automata and/or mechanical musical instruments are brought out of both the exhibition and storage to illustrate their role in the arts, music and/or society. This usually sparks a vigorous discussion by the audience.

During the upcoming program on May 24th, Jere Ryder, Guinness Collection Conservator, will discuss conservation ethics as they relate to automata. One of the subjects -- a Clown Guitarist by Leopold Lambert -- is shown here before and after restoration. Mr. Ryder is a member of the American Institute for Conservation (AIC).

The program will include a rare behind-the-scenes look at the fragile textiles, costuming and inner workings of these ingenious mechanical dolls. The program also includes live demonstrations of select automata from the Guinness Collection.

Location: Morris Museum, 6 Normandy Heights Rd., Morristown, NJ
Date: Thursday - May 24th, 2012
Time: 6-7pm
Cost: $7 for bembers / $9 for non-members
Call 973-971-3706 to pre-register, spots are limited.
For more Information visit: www.morrismuseum.org

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See Hugo? Like Automata? Visit the Morris Museum!

Watch Mechanical Dolls Like Ones in 'Hugo' Displayed at Morris Museum on PBS. See more from WNJT.

With the film Hugo racking up a total of 5 wins at the 2012 Oscar Awards, the public seems more interest in automata than ever. Here's a great news clip from NJToday Online titled 'Mechanical Dolls Like Ones in 'Hugo' Displayed at Morris Museum.' Indeed they are! The museum is home to a huge collection of automata originally owned by Murtough D. Guinness. Guinness -- an heir to the brewery of the same name -- collected over 700 of these fantastic mechanical pieces throughout his life and donated them to the museum. While they may not have a drawing automaton quite as sophisticated as the one in the movie, what they do have will still delight and astound any visitor.

Here is where you can learn more about the Guinness collection of automata at the Morris Museum.

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Automata article: 19th-Century Mechanical Wonders

Here is a new article in Antiques & Auction News about the automata exhibition currently on display at the International Terminal of San Francisco International Airport (SFO).

From the automata article:

The history of automata (plural) parallels humanity’s undiminished and continuous quest to create an object that has the appearance of moving like a human or an animal. The word is derived from the Greek automatos, meaning "self-moving."

The article describes the exhibit its relation to the Guinness Collection of Mechanical Musical Instruments & Automata at the Morris Museum. The exhibit itself is open to all visitors, ticketed and non-ticketed.

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Automata in the news: CBS Sunday Morning feature

It seems everyone is talking about automata -- even CBS Sunday Morning. Here is a nice piece featuring automata from this week's program.

You get a great out-of-the-display-case look at the Maillardet automaton at The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. The automaton, dating to around 1800, can draw four pictures and write three poems. The automaton is the mechanical marvel that inspired Brian Selznick, author of the book The Invention of Hugo Cabret, which Martin Scorsese brought to the big screen as the Oscar-nominated film Hugo.

Additional context on the history of automata is provided by Jere Ryder, Conservator of the Guinness Collection of automata located at the Morris Museum, in Morristown, New Jersey. He shows off a humorous automaton of a man and a pig as well as a clown performing a magic trick.

Have you seen the automaton at The Franklin Institute? What did you think of the movie Hugo? Finally, when will you make a trip to the Morris Museum to see hundreds of automata? Tell us about it in the comments!

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