Tableau Automation Of A French Village Driven By Multiple Brass Clock Mechanisms

Check out this wall mounted tableau automaton depicting a village scene. This will be going to auction today at Skinner's Science, Technology, and Clock auction.

From the catalog description:
Tableau Automation of a French Village, 19th/early 20th century, the lower scene depicting a double track canal with models of paddleboats, sailboats, cargo ships, and a water mill, above the molded rock formation lies a street scene with horse-drawn carriages, covered wagons, citizens of the village, and a clock tower with a Roman numeral dial and time and strike mechanism, a four-car passenger train with tender rides into a tunnel, all on individual belt-driven tracks that run on five different clockwork mechanisms, housed in a giltwood and glazed case, inside case stamped Chapeau, ht. 34 x wd. 55 x dp. 16 1/2 in. Estimate $1,000-1,500



The image above shows a detail of the automaton and the many brass clockwork mechanisms that drive the various moving parts of the scene.