This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 8/24/2019
Vanishing Head Automaton. A drunken man stands between a wooden barrel and a stack of crates, holding a fan in one hand. As the mechanism is activated, he raises the fan in front of his face, and when it is lowered, his head has vanished. Then, the top of the barrel pops up, and inside is seen the missing head. The man’s head drops back down into the barrel, the fan is waved in front of the body, and the head reappears atop it. The motion continues and the man’s head vanishes, again, only to pop up from inside the uppermost of the three stacked crates. The head then reappears on the man’s body, as if all of the activity were merely a drink-induced dream. Finely clothed and finished, with velvet-covered base concealing mechanism and music box that accompanies the action. Height 20 ½”. Good working condition.