Geoff Wooff Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 (edited) Claude the Clown is an automaton playing the concertina by Gustave Vichy, circa 1890. This very interesting item is coming up for auction in Cologne on the 23rd March... with an estimate of €18,000 - €25,000 ! Well worth a look at the information and photos provided at www.the-saleroom.com ( a search for 'concertina' will bring up the details) . Edited March 19 by Geoff Wooff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex_holden Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 Thanks Geoff, that's very interesting. Here is the direct link to the auction lot: https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/auction-team-breker/catalogue-id-breker10039/lot-ec63695b-e762-42e3-a857-b12601235875 Their description: Claude the Clown Musical Automaton by Gustave Vichy, c. 1890 Depicting a clown jauntily playing the concertina atop a banded wood barrel, with plaster-composition character head decorated with painted colored discs, articulated eyes, nose and right foot, the going-barrel motor with six cams and single-air cylinder movement causing Claude to turn and nod his head, move both hands and tap his foot as his eyes dart from left to right and his nose moves in and out in time to the music, dressed in checked silk breeches and magenta satin tailcoat trimmed with lace, ht. 26 in. (66 cm), good working condition, cylinder movement an old replacement, baseboard of barrel replaced, with bone-handled crank and Vichy acorn-form stop / start. - Literature: For similar pieces, see: Christian and Sharon Bailly, "Automates Anciens", exhibition at the Hospice Saint-Charles, 25. Nov.-30. Dec. 1995; Andrea Robertson, "Museum of Automata", p. 38. - With his lopsided grin, raised eyebrows and unique articulated nose, which mimics the folds and the movements of the concertina, "Claude" has one of the most remarkable faces in the Vichy oeuvre. The automaton was not illustrated in the Vichy catalog and surviving examples are exceedingly rare. We know of only four others: one in the former Museum of Automata in York, England, one exhibited at the Hospice Saint-Charles in Paris in 1995 and two in private European collections. And here is the accompanying video: I have saved a copy of the photos in case they get taken down after the auction. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Wooff Posted March 19 Author Share Posted March 19 Thanks for adding the links Alex...... I'm a bit of a dunce when it comes to this IT stuff. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SIMON GABRIELOW Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 How delightful and such a lovely sound too. I remember the museum of Automata in York, and it eventually had to close. I hope some one buys the 'Clown".. and looks after him🌝 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Thorne Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 He's managing very well, given the state of the straps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Barnert Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 But... His fingers aren’t touching the buttons! [... but I must say, he’s got the “concertina face” down perfectly!] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Mellish Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 I'm disappointed that the sound is that of an ordinary musical box, entirely unrelated to the instrument that he is supposedly playing. If the head etc movements are produced by a "single-air cylinder movement" it's a pity that that doesn't also blow air past reeds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Barnert Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 16 minutes ago, Richard Mellish said: I'm disappointed that the sound is that of an ordinary musical box, entirely unrelated to the instrument that he is supposedly playing. If the head etc movements are produced by a "single-air cylinder movement" it's a pity that that doesn't also blow air past reeds. To play a tune, there would need to be many reeds, and not miniature ones, either. The tune the music box plays has a range of an octave and a major 6th, which would require 13 reeds (more if you want an accompaniment like the music box plays), the smallest being big enough to make a reasonable sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Wooff Posted March 23 Author Share Posted March 23 (edited) Sold! Hammer price €20,000 !! Plus the buyer's premium and sales tax........ Edited March 23 by Geoff Wooff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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