An automaton is a relatively self-operating machine, or control mechanism designed to automatically follow a sequence of operations, or respond to predetermined instructions. Some automata, such as bellstrikers in mechanical clocks, are designed to give the illusion to the casual observer that they are operating under their own power or will, like a mechanical robot. The term has long been commonly associated with automated puppets that resemble moving humans or animals, built to impress and/or to entertain people.
Horology is the study of the measurement of time. Clocks, watches, clockwork, sundials, hourglasses, clepsydras, timers, time recorders, marine chronometers, and atomic clocks are all examples of instruments used to measure time. In current usage, horology refers mainly to the study of mechanical time-keeping devices, while chronometry more broadly includes electronic devices that have largely supplanted mechanical clocks for the best accuracy and precision in time-keeping.
A music box or musical box is an automatic musical instrument in a box that produces musical notes by using a set of pins placed on a revolving cylinder or disc to pluck the tuned teeth of a steel comb. The popular device best known today as a "music box" developed from musical snuff boxes of the 18th century and were originally called carillons à musique. Some of the more complex boxes also contain a tiny drum and/or bells in addition to the metal comb.
Charles Frodsham was a distinguished English horologist, establishing the firm of Charles Frodsham & Co, which remains in existence as the longest continuously trading firm of chronometer manufacturers in the world. In January 2018, the firm launched a new chronometer wristwatch, after sixteen years in development. It is the first watch to use the George Daniels double-impulse escapement.
The Silver Swan is an automaton dating from the 18th century and now housed in the Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, Teesdale, County Durham, England. It was acquired by John Bowes, the museum's founder, from a Parisian jeweller in 1872.
Thwaites & Reed has been in continuous manufacture since its foundation and claims to be the oldest clock manufacturing company in the world. Geoffrey Buggins MBE, the last of the original family clockmakers, saw drawings of Thwaites clocks dating back to 1610. These drawings and other early records prior to 1780 went missing but other records from that date are stored with the London Metropolitan Archives. Further records are stored by Thwaites & Reed up to present day.
The Invention of Hugo Cabret is a children's historical fiction book written and illustrated by Brian Selznick and published by Scholastic. The hardcover edition was released on January 30, 2007, and the paperback edition was released on June 2, 2008. With 284 pictures between the book's 533 pages, the book depends as much on its pictures as it does on the words. Selznick himself has described the book as "not exactly a novel, not quite a picture book, not really a graphic novel, or a flip book or a movie, but a combination of all these things". The book won the 2008 Caldecott Medal, the first novel to do so, as the Caldecott Medal is for picture books, and was adapted by Martin Scorsese as the 2011 film Hugo.
Edward Martin Burgess FSA FBHI, known as Martin Burgess, was an English horologist and master clockmaker.
John Joseph Merlin was a Belgian Freemason, clock-maker, musical-instrument maker, and inventor from the Prince-Bishopric of Liège in the Holy Roman Empire. He moved to England in 1760. By 1766 he was working with James Cox and creating automatons such as Cox's timepiece and the Silver Swan. By 1773 he was designing and making innovative keyboard instruments. In 1783 he opened Merlin's Mechanical Museum in Princes Street, Hanover Square, London, a meeting-place for the gentry and nobility. In addition to his clocks, musical instruments and automata, Merlin is credited with the invention of inline skates in the 1760s. He was referred to by contemporaries as "The Ingenious Mechanic". He was friendly with composer Joseph Haydn.
James Cox was a British jeweller, goldsmith and entrepreneur and the proprietor of Cox's Museum. He is now best known for creating ingenious automata and mechanical clocks, including Cox's timepiece, powered by atmospheric pressure, the Peacock Clock and the Silver Swan.
Thomas Kuntz is an American multi-media artist notable for his contemporary automata. He has devoted a lifetime to acquiring the skills of a designer, sculptor, mechanic, automatist, animator, model-maker, painter and conceptualist.
Conservation and restoration of movable cultural property is a term used to denote the conservation of movable cultural property items in libraries, archives, museums and private collections. Conservation encompasses all the actions taken toward the long-term preservation of cultural heritage. Activities include examination, documentation, treatment, and preventive care, which is supported by research and education. Object conservation is specifically the actions taken to preserve and restore cultural objects. The objects span a wide range of materials from a variety of cultures, time periods, and functions. Object conservation can be applied to both art objects and artifacts. Conservation practice aims to prevent damage from occurring, a process known as 'preventive conservation'. The purpose of preventive conservation is to maintain, and where possible enhance, the condition of an object, as well as managing deterioration risks, such as handling and environmental conditions. Historically, object conservation was focused on the category of fine arts but now many different types of objects are conserved. Each type of object material, typically denoted by organic or inorganic then the specific medium, requires a specialized professional conservator and often requires collaborative work between museum staff, scientists, and conservators.
Cyril Frederick Cherrington Beeson CIE, D.Sc. (1889–1975) was an English entomologist and forest conservator who worked in India. Beeson was an expert on forest entomology who wrote numerous papers on insects, and whose book on Indian forest insects remains a standard work on the subject. After his retirement and return to England he became an antiquarian horologist.
Eric John Dingwall (1890–1986) was a British anthropologist, psychical researcher and librarian.
Maillardet's automaton is an automaton built in London c. 1800 by a Swiss mechanician, Henri Maillardet. It is currently part of the collections at The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia.
The conservation and restoration of clocks refers to the care given to the physical and functional aspects of time measuring devices featuring "moving hands on a dial face" exclusive of watches. Care for clocks constitutes regulating the external environment, cleaning, winding, lubrication, pest-management, and repairing or replacing mechanical and aesthetic components to preserve or achieve the desired state as specified by the owner. Clocks are typically composed of multiple types of materials such as wood, metal, paint, plastic, etc., which have unique behaviors and environmental interactions, making treatment options complex. The materials used and the complexity of clockwork warrant having a Horological Conservator complete the work.
Maximilian Büsser is a Swiss businessman and founder of the watch brand MB&F. Prior to his work at MB&F he was the CEO of Harry Winston Rare Timepieces (1998–2005) and worked at Jaeger-LeCoultre (1991–1998). Büsser has lived in Dubai since 2014.
Robert Pickersgill Howgrave-Graham F.S.A., M.I.E.E. was a British polymath. He trained as an electrical engineer and became a teacher, inventor and author but his lasting legacy, through his interest in archaeology, is his work as an antiquarian, historian and photographer. Often noted as a horologist, he became a specialist in medieval church clocks, and his research work on the clocks of both Wells and Salisbury Cathedrals is considered scholarship standard. Upon his retirement from teaching he pursued both his interest in photography and archaeology, becoming Assistant Keeper of the Muniments of Westminster Abbey.
Michael Start is a British automata maker and restorer. He trained in Technical Horology at Hackney College in London, and now specialises in the conservation and restoration of antique automata, with a focus on 19th Century automata.
Maria Start is a British automata maker and restorer. She trained in Fashion design in Maidenhead, London, and now specialises in the conservation and restoration of antique automata, with a focus on 19th Century automata.
