When I posted about the Mortuary Automaton, a kind reader linked me to this awesome Haunted House Automaton, supposedly from the Edinburgh Museum of Childhood.
Too bad the picture is so small because there’s some cool stuff going on here. I tried to find other videos on youtube to no avail, and googled a bit. In my humble opinion, “Haunted House Automaton” should yield many more results.
Oh my goodness…this incredible automaton is up for auction.
When a coin is inserted: doors open and the room is lighted revealing four morticians and four poor souls on embalming tables, the morticians move as if busily at work on their grisly task and mourners standing outside bob their heads as if sobbing in grief.
Absolutely incredible…
From the item description:
Lot 207
“St. Dennistoun Mortuary” Coin-Operated Automaton, attributed to Leonard Lee, c. 1900, the mahogany cabinet and glazed viewing area displays a Greek Revival mortuary building with double doors and grieving mourners out front, when a coin is inserted, doors open and the room is lighted revealing four morticians and four poor souls on embalming tables, the morticians move as if busily at work on their grisly task and mourners standing outside bob their heads as if sobbing in grief, ht. 30 1/2, wd. 24, dp. 17 1/4 in.
Estimate $4,000-6,000
[EDIT] The fine folks at Skinner Inc. were kind enough to post this video in the comments. Check it out in action!
I’ve had the artwork from Christmas With Colonel Sanders saved for a few years now. I was quite surprised that I hadn’t posted it before.
Yes…this exists.
And now a message from the Colonel himself, straight from his heart to yours (click to enlarge photo):
I may have to make a separate post just for creepy Colonel sculptures and automatons, but here’s one to get you in the holiday spirit:
As a special treat I uploaded Christmas Day With Colonel Sanders here! Enjoy these extra crispy tunes.
…I never did get my hands on one of those awesomely absurd KFC Buckets for Breast Cancer.
Scientific American has a nice little slide show of early 20th century novelty designs.
Strange automatons, mind tricks and whimsical inventions…
See the rest here.
Here are a few of my favorite picks from Grandinroad’s Halloween Haven this season.
Skeleton hand wall mounts:
Or witch hands, if you prefer:
This tree is incredible:
I think it’s actually the flowers that are for sale, but I can’t take my eyes off the mummies:
Ah yes, here they are…
Skulls and tapers sold separately, but it’s a nice combo:
They also have life size animatronics and animatronic accessories. I’m actually partial to the crawling hands and dancing broomsticks:
See more here.
Since I saw this on Boing Boing, I’m sure it’s already gotten quite a bit of buzz. But I can’t deny you guys a 16th Century mechanical monk if you haven’t seen him yet.
In the Smithsonian Institution is a sixteenth-century automaton of a monk, made of wood and iron, 15 inches in height. Driven by a key-wound spring, the monk walks in a square, striking his chest with his right arm, raising and lowering a small wooden cross and rosary in his left hand, turning and nodding his head, rolling his eyes, and mouthing silent obsequies. From time to time, he brings the cross to his lips and kisses it. After over 400 years, he remains in good working order.
Watch it in action:
And read a bit more about this lovely oddity on The Blackbird Archive.
I’ve posted about Nick Rayburn’s amazing Waiting Hand Automaton.
I wish I could have given his new project, The Ruby Slippers, to my mother as a gift.
One of my first and greatest memories of creativity was my mother making me a pair of my very own “ruby slippers” when I was a toddler. I felt like the most special little thing in the universe when I slipped those babies on.
Wonderful work, Nick!
I’m on a Haunted Mansion kick lately. The other day I decided I was going to make a collection of Haunted Mansion portraits (perhaps miniatures) to hang in my library…which currently has zero available wall space.
Tooling around with random searches I came across a Distant Creations post showcasing Richard Brigante’s Haunted Mansion collection.
WOW. I am seriously impressed. He has every type of collectible ever manufactured.
I think he should start a small museum. I’d go in a heartbeat.
See more photos of the collection here.
I recently received a link to this incredible automaton: The Waiting Hand. Something about the movement in this brilliantly crafted kinetic sculpture is so eerie…I love it…
I have never wanted to hop a plane to Wisconsin so badly in my life. I absolutely must visit the House on the Rock.
I’m going to be honest. I can’t write detailed descriptions of all the rooms in this place, because I WILL impulsively buy a plane ticket I can’t afford…and we don’t want that, now do we?
However, I will direct you to this fantastic post that describes the house in more detail.
Antiques, oddities, puppets, monsters, instruments, specimens, props, masks, machines, weapons, books, carnival and sideshow relics…enough to make one’s head explode in the most delightful way.
A wise friend recently pointed out a common thread in my preferences: a penchant for intensely created little worlds full of unique vision. I think this place is a perfect example. I like to be sensually overwhelmed, immersed in creativity, history, the carefully crafted extremes of madness and entertainment. Places that collect the bizarre fringes of human invention never fail to fascinate me.
Each bit of ephemera tells a story…stories run through my head with every picture I see…
Time to count the change in my jar and save up for that ticket…
SheWalksSoftly 