Automata: The Golden Age, 1848-1914

The automaton is the playful collaboration of the artist and the artisan, with sculpture, painting, music, costume, and mechanics all playing a part in its creation. In Automata: The Golden Age, Christian Bailly opens with a depiction of mid-19th-century Paris, where French automaton-makers lived and worked. There follow the little-known histories of the seven leading makers, from their establishment mid-century to the decline of production after the First World War. Here, for the first time, names, dates, and chronologies are accurately established to present a reference of inestimable value. In addition, more than 150 automata are photographed in color, with many more depicted in facsimile pages from vintage catalogs.