Working Models & Automata

[pennymachines]

Newspaper Boy automaton, 1917

[pennymachines]

Ahrens The Execution



Available for $17,499.99 on US ebay! 1920s Charles Ahrens The Execution Coin-op Penny Arcade Working Model
Probably only worth $17,499.98.

[pennymachines]

Working models, ancient and modern, at Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum.

[moonriver]

Thanks! my favourite things, I enjoyed that lot

It amazes me how many very poor examples of laughing sailors there are out there. Its not until you see a really good one that you realise just how bad the bad ones are.
Much the same with working models, the badly adjusted ones where everything works all at the same time, very quickly, for a total of 10 seconds instead of a proper sequence with the rheostat working at a proper and moderate speed.

[john t peterson]

I went to Marvin's Museum over ten years ago. I was raised in Southern Michigan and was attending my high school reunion nearby.

You get a sense of the claustrophobia from the clip; the place is jammed to the gills with arcade stuff. At the time, he had the three Bryans "Magic Machines," two of which were not operational.

My overall impression was that I would go nuts trying to keep everything operating. I don't know how he does it. All in all, quite an unusual place.

JP

[moonriver]

Thanks! my favourite things, I enjoyed that lot

It amazes me how many very poor examples of laughing sailors there are out there. Its not until you see a really good one that you realise just how bad the bad ones are.
Much the same with working models, the badly adjusted ones where everything works all at the same time, very quickly, for a total of 10 seconds instead of a proper sequence with the rheostat working at a proper and moderate speed.

Just appeared a reproduction laughing sailor currently on ebay on Buy it Now £2,750 . For that kind of money and a bit of luck you could find a half decent original one!

[badpenny]

For that kind of money I'll happily sit in a case and laugh at you.

[moonriver]