Interesting Folk Art Automaton Project circa 1900 Start Price USD 750.00 Current Price USD 750.00 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Monday, May 12, 2008 End Time Monday, May 19, 2008 Location Columbus, Ohio See more about 'Interesting Folk Art Automaton Project circa 1900' Description  Interesting Folk Art Automaton Project circa 1900 This will be a great project for someone experienced with automatons. The man and dog were done by an accomplished wood carver and are of very good quality. I will give you what my vision of this caricature piece was going to be, then you can decide to follow it, or come up with ideas of your own. The main figure of a man is articulated on his right side, at the shoulder, elbow and wrist. He is articulated on the left side at only the shoulder and elbow. He is whittling a piece of wood with a real metal knife. I believe he originally paused and lifted the object to examine it, then continued. He may have first had a clockwork movement but when I received it, someone had attempted to operate him with an old clock motor and an old porcelain electrical on off switch appearing to be from the very early 1900's. In addition to the action of him carving, I planned to rig the stove with a lit gel color wheel to give the appearance of a fire burning inside it, all this operated from under the floor. I had planned to put a flicker light inside the lantern, a music box mechanism inside the box he is sitting on. And lastly to have the dog wagging its tail. Of course I was going to make it operate electrically. I also had planned to build a log cabin background with a lit window and door. And I found the perfect sized piece of antique curved class to use as the front for the case I was going to build. I figured out some of his movements are via a rod that travels up and down through an opening in his body to the right shoulder. Also used were tiny guitar wire wound springs on his wrist and forearm to return them to their original positions. I will be happy to answer any questions that I can. This would have been my first attempt at building an automaton but due to a permanent shoulder and hand injury, I will never be able to finish this project. Hopefully one of you out there will have the desire, skills and vision to complete it. It may be difficult to see, but I placed the piece of curved glass in front of the project in the last photo to give you an idea of what it would look like. Here are some particulars on the parts shown. 1.The Mans Figure measures approximately 11" high x 5 3/4" wide x 6" deep. 2. The Box Seat measures 2 3/4" high x 4 1/2" wide x 10 1/2" long 3. The Moonshine Jug is 2 1/4" tall x 1 1/2" in diameter. 4. The Lantern is 3 1/4" tall x 1 1/2" in diameter. 5. The Barrel is 2" in diameter top and bottom x 4 1/8" tall 6. The Dog stands 4" tall. (I named him "Woody") 7. The cast iron potbellied stove measures 8 1/2" tall. 8. And finally the curved glass measures 11 1/2" wide x 27 3/4" long. (not sure of radius) I thought the gear and motor set may come in handy as well. Photo Gallery           Payment is due within SEVEN days of auction end.  Seller definitely prefers payment via Paypal, but money orders are also accepted if the buyer emails us upon receipt of the invoice.  We do our best to accurately and honestly describe our offerings; we are not dealers or collectors.  Please ask your questions before you bid and don't bid if you do not intend to complete the transaction!  Curved glass included THIS ITEM IS SOLD 'AS IS.'  NO REFUNDS - NO EXCEPTIONS.  ALL SALES FINAL OVERSEAS BIDDERS WELCOME!  Again, please ask your questions before you bid!             Powered by eBay Turbo Lister Powered by eBay Turbo ListerThe free listing tool. List your items fast and easy and manage your active items. On May-04-08 at 01:44:56 PDT, seller added the following information: Use the FREE Counters 1 million sellers do - Vendio! Place a Bid!