Modern Magic: A Practical Treatise on the Art of Conjuring

In 1738, there were exhibited in Paris, by M. Vaucanson, three automata, which have been reproduced in modern times: one represented a flute player in a sitting posture, which performed twelve distinct tunes; the second was a standing figure, which discoursed harmony on a shepherd’s flute, held in his left hand, while with his right he beat on a tabor; the third was a life-size duck, which flapped its wings, quacked, drank water, ate corn, and even performed other functions of nature that made it more closely resemble its natural prototype. Some idea may be formed of the modus operandi of the cornet player of Messrs. Maskelyne and Cooke, by the information afforded by Vaucanson himself, which was published in 1738, and which purports to give a full explanation of the method of working the automaton flute player. The figure was five feet and a half high; it was seated upon a rock, which was supported by a pedestal four feet high, by three and a half broad. Within the pedestal were eight pair of bellows, which were set in motion by clockwork. The wind was forced into these tubes, which ascended through its trunk, and terminated in a single reservoir connected with the cavity of the mouth. Another piece of clockwork within the pedestal was applied to execute the necessary motions of the fingers, lips, and tongue. A revolving cylinder, with various pegs inserted in it, raised or depressed several levers, on the principle of a barrel organ and in this manner, it was said, music was produced very little inferior, if not equal, to the performance of a skilful flute player of flesh and blood.