Monday, September 30, 2013

A Unique One-of-a-Kind Bowlers Automaton

Monday, September 30 , 2013
     Still more clear sky, warm and sunny!


A Unique One-of-a-Kind
Bowlers Automaton 

THE BOWLERS AUTOMATON
Patented in 1907 by Otto Eichenburger of Switzerland and assigned one half to Leon Brock of N.Y., this extraordinary example was once displayed at the AMF Corp., the leading American Bowling Industry Co.; the multi-actions are indeed intricate involving bowling motions, pin re-setting and amusing movements by one of the three bisque head figures. Three copies of drawings are included and clearly demonstrate the apparent complexity of the toy and the engineering difficulties it must have presented for practical production. It has been offered to our knowledge only once at public auction, with no other ever surfacing for sale! 
 (Exc. Cond) for age, levers intact and works sporadically, lid is removable.

22" h. x 42" l
(.558M x 1.067M)*

(* Description Courtesy of Bertoia Auctions)

This item will be auctioned at Bertoia Auctions annual special Christmas Auction titled 
"Christmas Wishes Auction".  It caught my eye weeks ago,, but I didn't quite know how to present it. So finally this morning, I decided to present it by itself. And that's appropriate, because any one-of-a-kind item should have it's own post! For those who don't know, an automaton is a toy that when wound undergoes a series of automatic movements. I've written about these very interesting machines, and their complexity is awesome!

This fantastic showpiece is made of wood, metal,and glass. I would assume that the 3 figures are bisque with hand  sewn clothing. I can;t even imagine how many hours it took to develop this item.




It's the last day of September  already, and if you're a regular reader, you'll know that the weather here in Montreal (Quebec,canada) has been exceptional for the last 3 weeks. What a way to finish off  the month of September with such a marvellous and special display item.

Thanks for dropping by,
and have a great part of the day or night
wherever you may be.
Stacey
toysearcher@gmail.com



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