1925c – “Rose-Marie” the Robot with Will Mackford – (Belgian)

"Rose-Marie" the Robot with Will Mackford. The notes on the photographs are bilingual Flemish/French. [Thanks Serge De Man for the language origin.] Photo source here: Although William Mackford is an English name, the annotated images suggest the act to be Belgian-based. [Thanks Serge De Man for the language origin.] Any further information on "Rose-Marie" and/or …

1910 – Moto Phoso – Man or Automaton? – (German)

Above image Source: circusmuseum.nl Popular Electricity and the World's Advance – Volume 4 – Page 226 by Henry Walter Young – 1911 . This entrancing point was recently reached at Hamburg, where a vaudeville theater billed as its special attraction : "Moto Phoso-Man or Automaton ?" When the curtain rose for this turn it disclosed a figure …

1912 РMoto-Ph̩no РWilli Schoenen and Friedrich Hirsch (German)

Moto-Phéno die lebende Puppe: Vornehmste, interessanteste Schau der Gegenwart. Auch für Familien. Willi Schoenen gen: Moto-Phéno. Friedrich Hirsch, Impresario. Moto-Phéno, der einzige Mensch, der durch unbeugsame Willenskraft sich selbst hypnotisiert und in der Hypnose eine Puppe imitiert. Google English translation: Moto–PHENO the living doll: noblest, most interesting sight of the present. Also for families. Willi …

1875 “Psycho” the Whist-playing Automaton – Maskelyne & Clarke (British)

"Psycho" at the Museum of Science, London. (Image source: Mechanical Toys – Charles Bartholomew) My intent in putting up this entry is to draw attention on the aspect of remote control by which the slave component is anthropomorphic. This fits in with the early history of teleoperators and manipulators. All other aspects of "Psycho" are well …

1770 – “The Turk” Chess Automaton – Wolfgang von Kempelen (Hungarian)

John Gaughan's version of "The Turk" Like my post on Maskelyne's "Psycho" and "Zoe" automatons, the interest here is its place in history in terms of remote master-slave manipulators, and I shall confine myself to just that. There is significant other matter on "The Turk" published elsewhere already. Well established as a fake contrivance [pseudo automaton, faux (false) automaton], …