This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 8/17/2024
[AUTOMATON]. MAELZEL, Johann (1772 – 1838). Den Automat Trompetter van Vliet van Amsterdam. Circa 1820. Engraved broadsheet/handbill advertising the automaton trumpeter of Johann Maelzel. Full-length image to recto above the name of the automaton, with woodcut vignette on the verso above text describing its performance. Framed with glass on both sides; overall dimensions of 16 x 12 ½”. Exhibited in 2007 as part of Ricky Jay’s Extraordinary Exhibitions, at the Hammer Museum Los Angeles.
In Mr. Jay’s own words, “Johann Nepomuk Maelzel was a mechanic, musician, inventor, as well as an unscrupulous showman from Vienna. This double-sided playbill promises music and military marches by his automaton trumpeter. It is among the more sophisticated playbills in the [Hammer Museum] show, with an engraving of the trumpeter in ceremonial garb on one side, and a smaller woodcut to accompany the announcement text on the other.”