All tickets for this event are now Sold Out.

The master of creative crazy contraptions Heath Robinson has a museum devoted to him and his work. It is located in Pinner on the outskirts of London (Pinner tube station) and Michael Start of The House of Automata is delighted to present a talk and demonstration on the 16th of August at 6.30pm. The event will include performances of rare antique automata and an insight into the weird & wonderful world of the objects and their owners, its going to be fab!  The event is followed by an opportunity to enjoy the Crafts Councils excellent automata exhibition ‘A Curious Turn’ ……. featuring modern automata.    –     For more information:  Heath Robinson Museum

“Tell me about Automata” say’s Mr Moon.

The following article sent to me courtesy of Steve and Jere Ryder from the Morris Museum in New Jersey. Home of the Guiness Collection of Automata. Click on “Read More” for the live link.

https://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/ancient-androids/

On a large automaton of Little Tich, the 19th century music hall performer. The large mainspring was found to have its hole torn out from the barrel hooking. This is a fairly common repair, a result of ‘overwinding’.

The secret to the repair is the process of softening the steel prior to punching and shaping a new hole.

The new end will be curved to fit the shape of the barrel and then the spring cleaned and greased before fitting.

The original hole is torn out so begin by softening the end, note the heat protection for the main coils.

Punch a small hole or dimple

Cut off and reshape tail of the spring. It can also help to reshape the curve to aid hooking.

A Satyr Head Magicians prop made by us about 10 years ago and performed regularly on stage in the USA is coming up for sale at Potter & Potter auction in the USA on the 16th of December. It has traditional brass clockwork mechanism and produces cards from the mouth and the top of the head. We are not the sellers but  I hope it does well!

https://potterauctions.com/pdf/Catalog_055_web.pdf

A short film about The House of Automata by acclaimed Edinburgh photographer Euan Myles and ace film maker Jonnie Lewis (Trainspotting 2).
They capture the magic and appeal of automata in this 6minute documentary film set in our North of Scotland workshop.

(I never thought I would be skipping through the woods in the sunset clutching Bontems Singing birdcages!).

Click HERE to view the film on vimeo.

An adventure in projection with many moving and mechanical slides projected in a grand drawing room. The animations date from 1820 and  accompaniment is by epic piano playing, the gramophone, music box and Theremin . This takes place in the Victorian seaside resort of Nairn (favoured by Charlie Chaplin) as part of theNairn Book and Arts Festival. Wednesday 31st August 2016 7pm and 8.30pm.

Over to America soon and looking forward to participating in this event:

AutomataCon is a convention of and for artists, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts of automatons and related kinetic art. It is a two day event being held March 18th and 19th, 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. The convention will include a variety of private and public programming, such as social gatherings, museum tours, panel discussions, live demonstrations, workshops, presentations, and an exhibition.

The convention includes the public premier of  “Le Monde des Automates”.
an extremely rare 1928 film, “Le Monde des Automates” [the World of Automata].