1938 – Remote-Controlled Lawn Mower – Alvin Lodge (American)

Source: Mechanix Illustrated, Oct, 1938 (from blog.modernmechanix.com ) Builds Remote Control Lawn Mower Device Attaching two electric – motors, an old paint can, a wooden mixing bowl from a kitchen, sundry gears, wires and drive belts to a regulation lawn mower, Alvin Lodge, an unemployed mechanical engineer of Millersville, Pa., constructed a device that enables him …

1938 – Mechanical Elephant – George and Gordon Hutton (American)

Source: Popular Mechanics Feb 1938. G.G. Hutton sells his partnership to George Washington Shrum.  Most images of "Jumbo" post the 1939-40 N.Y. World's Fair are shown as "Rosie" and owned by Shrum. Most of the photos below are sourced from Life magazine. Life have over 70 images, I've just selected  a few. Lucky for the …

1938 – Rupert the Mechanical Man – Albert Creuziger (German)

Albert Creuziger was a German 'inventor' who exhibited 'Rupert' in England. Creuziger used bluff to prevent close scrutiny of his so-called robot "…Of course, there were many people who wanted at all costs to more closely get acquainted with "Rupert"'s structure to understand the many wonders. But everyone refused Creuziger engineer. He stated that no one …

1938 – SABOR IV – August Huber (Swiss)

From “Automata”, Chapuis and Droz. Translated by Alec Reid 1958. The working of the second robot (Televox was described earlier) is much gentler. It is called “Sabor,” a Swiss giant, the brain-child of Auguste Huber, who brought it into the world in Appenzell. At the request of a newspaper, Huber himself has thus summarised the …

1938 – Robot – Charles Lawson (British)

Charles Lawson lighting a cigarette for his robot. Other than the above images, all that's reported for this robot is that is talks and smokes.  The photo above shows a seat with a lightning-bolt motif on it. The seat suggests robot could arise and sit again.  Robot''s right arm moves to show a stop signal to …