Automata exhibition at San Francisco airport

The video shown below accompanies an new exhibition of antique automata that opened at the International Terminal of San Francisco International Airport (SFO) in November of 2011. Most of the nineteen automata on display were loaned from the Murtogh D. Guinness Collection at the Morris Museum located in Morristown, New Jersey.

From the SFO Museum web site:

This exhibition of automata and mechanical tableaux offers a broad range of automaton production from the second half of the nineteenth century, and includes a late twentieth-century creation using nineteenth-century parts and production methods. Most are set in motion by a mechanical spring motor and possess a music box. The best makers of the era are represented: Lambert, Phalibois, Tharin, Renou, Roullet & Decamps, and Vichy.

The exhibit is situated right where travelers get on and off the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system and is open to ALL visitors, ticketed or non-ticketed. If you are in the San Francisco area, you'll want to go check this out!

Here is a link to more information on the automata exhibit at SFO from the SFO Museum web site.

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Classic Automata from Skinner Auction, July 2006

Take a look at this generous video clip of a variety of classic automata by many of the famous French automaton makers.

I especially like the Monkey Duet tableau and the fact you get to see the workings of the piece.

You can learn more about many of the makers of these automata from Christian Bailly's book: Automata: The Golden Age.