Chapter II: Part 2

Another of the younger Le Droz’s inventions was his celebrated drawing automaton, which was a life-size figure of a man sitting behind a table and holding a style in his hand. A sheet of vellum was placed on the table, and the figure began to draw portraits of well-known persons with extraordinary correctness. This automaton was shown in London, and attracted considerable attention at the time.

I must now re-introduce to you another old friend, first shown here by Brother Manning. Here he is! a little acrobat that turns somersaults backwards down stairs. This is not, as many have thought, an invention of that great mechanical genius, Robert-Houdin, for it is figured and described in Musschenbroeck’s “Introductio ad philosophiam naturalem,” which was published in Leyden in 1762 (a year after the author’s death), and half a century before Robert-Houdin was born, and on the screen you have a facsimile (Fig. 22) of Musschenbroeck’s illustration of this mechanical toy, which he refers to as “an old invention of the Chinese.” It is also described by Ozanam in his “Recréations Mathématiques et Physiques,” the first edition of which was published in 1694. The figure I now throw on the screen (Fig. 23), is taken from the second edition of this work which was edited by Montucla in 1790. The principle is exceedingly simple; the whole thing depends upon the centre of gravity being suddenly changed by a shifting weight. Within a tube contained within the body, is a small quantity of mercury, and the moment that this tube is inclined to the horizon the mercury flows to the lower end tilting one figure over the other, and with such force that it is carried over by its inertia far enough to tilt the tubes, and cause the mercury to flow to the opposite end, and the process is repeated as long as there are stairs to descend; by a very simple arrangement of strings passing over pulleys, the legs and arms are always brought into suitable positions to support the figure in every position of its descent.

I now come to the automaton which for some years was the wonder of every country in Europe, the automaton chess-player of the Baron Wolfgang von Kempelen, constructed in 1776. This automaton was a life-size sitting figure dressed as a Turk, and having before it a large rectangular chest or cabinet, 3 feet 6 inches long, 2 feet deep, and 2 feet 6 inches high, on the top of which was a chessboard and a set of men. The seat on which the figure sat, was attached to the cabinet and the whole was on castors, so that it could be wheeled about the floor. When the automaton was exhibited, the exhibitor began operations by opening the doors of the cabinet so as to show its contents, and here I will throw on the screen a copy (Fig. 24) of one of the plates in a curious pamphlet,[10] printed anonymously in 1821, but probably by Professor Willis. It must, however, be recollected that these doors were opened in succession, and never all at the same time, but whichever door was opened, nothing could be seen but wheels, levers, connecting rods, strings and cylinders. After this the doors were closed and locked, the machinery was wound up, and the figure was ready to play a game of chess with any one who would challenge him. On commencing the game the figure moved its head, and seemed to look at every part of the board. When it checked the king, it nodded its head three times, and when it threatened the queen, it nodded twice. It also shook its head when its adversary made a false move, and replaced the offending piece. It nearly always won the game, but occasionally lost.

When it was completed, it was exhibited in Riga, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Berlin, Presburg and Vienna, coming to London in 1783, and having been seen by many thousands during those years with out its secret being discovered, but in the year 1789, a book was published by Mr. Freyherre of Dresden, in which he showed that “a well taught boy very thin and tall of his age, (sufficiently so that he could be concealed in a drawer below the chessboard,) agitated the whole.” In the plate before you, you will see that the author has shown in dotted lines, the position a boy might take when the left hand door was opened.

The real story of this most ingenious and successful scientific fraud is so interesting that I must tell it here, although it puts for ever Baron von Kempelen’s chess-player outside the circle of true automata. In the year 1776, a regiment, half Russian and half Polish, mutinied at Riga. The mutineers were defeated, and their chief officer, Worouski, fell, having had both his thighs fractured by a cannon ball. He hid himself in a ditch until after dark, when he dragged himself to the neighbouring house of a doctor named Osloff, a man of great benevolence, who took him in and concealed him, but he had to amputate both his legs. During the time of Worouski’s illness, Osloff was visited by his intimate friend the Baron von Kempelen, and after many consultations and much thought, Kempelen hit upon the idea of conveying him out of the country by devising this automaton (as Worouski was a great chess-player), and in three months the figure was finished.

In order to avoid suspicion he gave performances _en route_ to the frontier. The first performance was given at Toula, on the 6th of November, 1777 (that is to say exactly 114 years ago to-day). The machine and Worouski were packed in a case and started for Prussia, but when they reached Riga, orders came from the Empress Katherine II., for Baron von Kempelen to go to St. Petersburg with his automaton. The Empress played several games with him, but was always beaten, and then she wanted to buy the figure. This was an awkward situation for Kempelen, and he was at his wits’ end to know how to wriggle out of it. He declared that his own presence was absolutely necessary for the working of the machine, and that it was quite impossible for him to sell it, and, after some further discussion, he was allowed to proceed on his journey.

This chess-player was, in the same year, purchased by Mons. Anthon, who took it all over Europe. At his death it came into the hands of Johann Maelzel, the inventor of the Metronome, who sent it to the United States. It was afterwards sent back to Europe, and in the year 1844 was in the possession of a mechanician of Belleville, named Croizier.

Maelzel himself was a mechanician of very considerable skill, and he constructed an automaton trumpeter, which was exhibited at Vienna about the year 1804, which played the Austrian and French cavalry marches, and marches and allegros by Weigl, Dussek, and Pleyel. Maelzel was, after that, appointed mechanician to the Austrian Court, and constructed an automatic orchestra, in which trumpets, flutes, clarionets, violins, violoncellos, drums, cymbals, and a triangle, were introduced, and this attracted very great interest in the Austrian capital at the time.

In the year 1772 there was in Spring Gardens, near Charing Cross, a most remarkable collection of automata exhibited in a place of entertainment known as Cox’s Museum, and here I have an original copy of the “_Descriptive catalogue, of the several superb and magnificent pieces of mechanism and jewellery exhibited in Mr. Cox’s Museum, at Spring Gardens, Charing Cross_.” To which this footnote is added, “_Hours of Admission, 11, 2, and 7, every day (Sundays excepted), tickets Half a Guinea each, admitting one person, to be had at Mr. Cox’s, No. 103, Shoe Lane_.” This was a very extraordinary exhibition, and contained upwards of twenty large and elaborate automata, several of them being adorned with gold and precious stones. Some were complicated clocks, some were large groups of animals, and figures with fountains and cascades around them. None of these objects was less than nine feet high, and some were as high as sixteen feet. I can find nothing important enough from a Mechanick’s point of view, to describe in detail, but it was the precursor in the same place of the exhibition of Monsieur Maillardet, which was one of the London attractions at the beginning of the present century.

M. Maillardet exhibited a bird automaton (similar to that already referred to which was made by Le Droz), and whose performance lasted four minutes with one winding up. He constructed also a spider, entirely of steel, which imitated all the actions of the real animal, it ran round and round the table in a spiral line, tending towards the centre. Maillardet made automata representing a caterpillar, a mouse, a lizard, and a serpent; the last crawled about all over the table, darted its tongue in and out, and produced a hissing sound.

Maillardet’s most important automata were, however, his drawing and writing figure, and his pianoforte player. The former was a kneeling boy, who wrote in ink with an ordinary pen, sentences in English and in French, and drew landscapes. The pianist was a figure of a lady, who performed eighteen pieces of music. She began by bowing to the audience, her bosom heaved, and her eyes first looked at the music, and then followed the motion of her fingers, and the music was produced by the keys being played on by the fingers; but the most remarkable of M. Maillardet’s machines, was a magician, or fortune-teller, which gave answers to some twenty given questions, which were inscribed on as many counters or medallions. One of these medallions having been put into a drawer, the figure arose from his seat, bowed to the audience, and described mystic circles in the air with his wand; after appearing to consult his book of mysteries, he struck a little door behind him, which flew open, and exhibited an appropriate answer to the question on the medallion.

The general principle upon which this automaton’s power of selection was founded lay in the fact that in the edge of each medallion there was a small hole drilled, but no two holes were drilled to the same depth, and, by an exceedingly delicate mechanism, the varying depth to which a pin could be thrust into the edge of a disc, was caused to control the mechanism by which the various answers were selected, and which were exhibited when the little door flew open.

The next great master of automaton design and construction, was that wonderful genius Robert-Houdin (about whom our worthy Secretary and Seer discoursed to us so pleasantly and so instructively nearly a year ago). Brother Manning’s paper was so complete in itself, and that part of it which dealt with automata was so ably illustrated, that it will be quite unnecessary for me to add to the length of this communication, by going over that ground again, so I will merely enumerate the automata of that interesting man and pass on to still more recent times.

The first of the automata of Robert-Houdin was a confectioner’s shop, in which a pastry-cook came out of the door when requested and offered to the spectators patisserie, bonbons, and refreshments of every description, and within the shop might be seen the assistants making pastry, rolling out the dough, and putting it into the oven. Then he made two clowns, known as Auriol and Débureau. The first of these performed a number of acrobatic feats upon a chair which was held at arm’s length by the other. After this, the figure of Auriol smoked a pipe, and accompanied on the flageolet an air played by the orchestra.

Another was an acrobat which performed tricks on the trapèze, and the last to which I shall refer, was his celebrated writing figure, which is illustrated in Brother Manning’s “Opusculum,” No. XXIV., to which I must refer you for a great deal of interesting information respecting that remarkable man.

A contemporary of Robert-Houdin was Mons. Mareppe, who constructed a very wonderful automaton violin player, and which was exhibited at the Conservatoire at Paris, in the year 1838, and which performed on the violin by bowing and fingering the strings, and in an account of the performance which was published at the time in “Galignani’s Messenger,” it is stated that the musical execution was so perfect as to bring tears into the eyes of the audience.

Coming to our own period, from the time of Robert-Houdin, there have been no great automata which will live in the history of the subject, until the year 1875, when Mr. J. N. Maskelyne (who, I am happy to tell you, is honouring us with his presence to-night) exhibited at the Egyptian Hall his marvellous “Psycho.” This was a seated figure, supported by a cylindrical pedestal of glass which stood upon a little platform, and, being on castors, could be wheeled about the floor. This automaton can actually play a game of whist, selecting the cards from a rack in front of it, and playing a most skilful game. The machine works apparently without any mechanical connection with anything outside, and the delicacy and precision of its actions, display the most consummate skill in design, and give to its inventor a high position for mechanical science. This automaton also works out arithmetical calculations, with numbers from one to a hundred millions, showing the result behind a door which opens in front of its box.

Another of Mr. Maskelyne’s automata, is the celebrated “Zoe” of 1877, a sitting figure supported like the last on a glass pedestal so as to exclude the possibility of an electrical system of communication. A sheet of paper is fastened on to the table in front, and the figure traces out very fair portraits of public characters chosen by the audience out of a list of some two hundred names.

In respect to these most beautiful machines I must refrain from revealing to you the secrets of their working, and that for two reasons, first, because I do not know them myself; and second, because Mr. Maskelyne is here and is doubtless only impatient to jump up when I sit down and tell us all about them.

I do not intend to say anything about speaking machines or to do more than make a passing reference to the very interesting work and researches of Kircher in 1650, Van Helmont, 1667, Kratzenstein, in 1780, L’Abbé Mical, in 1783, Von Kempelen in 1791, Willis in 1829, Wheatstone in 1837, or of Faber in 1862. All these mechanicians and physicists studied the philosophy of speech and produced machines or parts of machines, which could utter vowels, words or even sentences, but these machines were operated by keys and stops and were, in no sense of the term, automata.

I must, however, refer to one of the greatest marvels of modern science, the phonograph which Mr. Edison has applied in the construction of his talking dolls. Edison’s talking doll is a figure, within which a little phonograph, driven by a little winch, is concealed, and which repeats in a clear voice any sentence or rhyme which may have been spoken against its recording cylinder or disc. I am deeply disappointed to be unable to show you one of these most interesting automata to-night, for one is on its way to me across the Atlantic. Colonel Gourand very kindly sent for one that I might show it to you this evening, and I deeply regret that it has not arrived in time, for the Odd Volumes would, otherwise, have been the first to hear its voice in Europe.[11]

In the phonograph, that splendid triumph of acoustical and mechanical science, we have literally fulfilled, the prediction made by Sir David Brewster in 1883, when he wrote “I have no doubt that before another century is completed, a talking and a singing Machine will be numbered among the conquests of Science.”

No one who is familiar with any of the great European capitals can have failed to notice in the windows of the higher class of toy-shops, clock-work automata of various kinds. We have jugglers and rope dancers, conjurers, pianists, violinists, harpists and trumpeters, dancing niggers, figures fighting, knitting, sewing, writing, and engaged in almost every occupation performed by human beings, but none that I have seen are fit for comparison with the wonderful mechanical works of Vaucanson, Robert-Houdin or Maskelyne; mechanically they are nearly identical with one another, and differ only in the external application of the internal machinery. At International Exhibitions one sees one or two of superior merit, but I have not recently seen any of sufficient importance to bring before you this evening. The pianists and other musicians merely move their hands on their instruments, but the music (save the mark) whether it be a violin or a trumpet, comes from a musical snuffbox inside which is generally wound up by a different key. These figures are usually very costly, and I am always puzzled to know who are the people who purchase them. The best are generally those mechanical toys which represent the movements of animals, and here I have a mechanical bear which is rather amusing, and it is ingenious because by a very simple combination of clock work with cranks and strings a number of different motions is obtained; we have the mouth opening and shutting, the head going from side to side, the lips moving and the whole animal bowing to the spectators.

Within the last few years a most extraordinary amount of mechanical ingenuity has been brought to bear upon the construction of small automatic toys, which are sold in the streets for a few pence, and I think, even more than the extraordinarily simple and ingenious contrivances by which the various effects are produced, the great inventive merit consists in a design and method of manufacture by which they can be turned out, with a profit, at so insignificant a cost. I have brought together a few examples, a very minute fraction of the hundreds of forms that exist, but selected merely to illustrate the different types of principle of action.

A very favourite motive power is a wound up spring, consisting of strands of vulcanized india-rubber, and here I have one of the well-known butterflies which come out in Paris in 1878, where they filled the air of the Avenue de l’Opera, the shops of which were then occupied chiefly by hawkers of toys. The motive power of this toy is nothing more than a light screw propeller or fan rotated by the untwisting of a spring, while on the body of the machine are two fixed wings or fins to prevent the whole machine from rotating. The action is wonderfully like that of an animal, perhaps most like that of a bat. Here again the same principle is applied in a running mouse, and this is especially interesting from the fact that the machine winds itself up the moment the tension of the cord is relaxed, and as the spindle of the wheels is the flexible rubber itself the peculiar scuttling action of a mouse is well imitated.

There is again a large class of mechanical toys in which there is a combination of a rubber spring with a wheel and escapement, the pallets of which by their reciprocating motion producing whatever effect may be desired; the swimming fish is one of them, the wagging of the tail being produced in the way I have described. Here is another displaying considerable ingenuity. In this case an escapement wheel works a crutch which by a pair of cranks linked together causes each of two pugilists to turn a little way backwards and forwards on one heel, and the arms being hung loosely to the shoulders by rubber hinges give to the figures the appearance of hitting out vigorously.

I have here a couple of figures which I admit do not contain their motive power within themselves but they require so little aid from outside and do so much for themselves that I have been tempted to bring them in. Here is a monkey climbing a rope, and its progression is insured by the simplest possible device, the string passes over one pin and under another in his posterior hands while the anterior pair of hands grip the rope with a slight degree of friction: if the string be tightened the lower hands act as a lever which pushes the body up, but when it is slack it slips round the pins and does no work, in other words the grip of the hands is greater than that of the feet when the cord is slack but less when it is tight.

In this little animated skeleton, we have an immense effect produced by an extraordinarily small external motion. The squeeze that I give to this U shaped spring, by varying the tension of the twisted strings, on which the skeleton is suspended, is almost infinitesimal—but it gives to the skeleton considerably more energy than is usually to be found in skeletons.

Here we have a walking figure whose action depends upon gravity, but his progression is checked by the friction of his feet on the board on which he performs, first one foot catches and then another, and each time his inertia turns him round, which gives him an appearance of having been in the company of teetotallers, or can he have been dining with the Sette of Odd Volumes?

A familiar form of mechanical or automatic toys is in the form of a box or frame having a glass front, behind which figures of acrobats, rope-dancers and moving groups are set into motion by sand falling on a wheel within the case; and it is an ingenious feature of these toys that they are “wound up” by simply rolling the box over on its edge through one revolution, which has the effect of lifting the fallen sand back into the upper reservoir.

The last great class of mechanical figures, to which I shall refer, includes those which depend for their action upon the spinning of a top or fly-wheel, and some of them are particularly pretty and ingenious.

Here, for example, is a couple of figures, which the gentleman who sold it to me told me was “a Narry and a Narriet walking hout on ‘Ampstead ’Eath.” In this case the ruling spirit and go is as usual in the _lady_, and the man has to follow whither she leads, the legs of the man are connected together at the hips by a pair of cranks so disposed, that if one leg be pushed back, the other is thereby thrown forward. Now the heels are so cut that they catch in the ground when in a forward position and can slide forward when behind; in being urged along, the forward leg catching in the ground is relatively pushed back and the other leg comes forward, which in its turn catches, and the effect of walking is produced.

And here we have (Fig. 25) another on precisely the same principle, in which an ostrich appears to draw a cart, which in reality, is pushing him along, but the effect of the ostrich’s strut is delightfully reproduced.

Here is another in which several very curious motions are reproduced. This beautiful little mechanical toy (Fig. 26) represents a circus girl riding round the ring, and occasionally leaping over a bar or bowing to the audience, while the prancing action of the horse is ingeniously imitated. The motive power is derived from the spinning of a top or fly-wheel, supported in a frame attached to the bar to which the horse is fixed; and, as the spindle of the top spins on the bevel edge of the circular base, the horse is caused to gallop round in a circle, and, being supported on the table by a roller mounted eccentrically on its axis, it prances up and down as it runs. The equestrienne is attached to a light lever pivotted on the rotating frame and revolving with it. Twice in its revolution this lever is lifted by a cam, forming part of the base; the first lift causes the figure to give a little bow, and the second, which is much greater, makes her leap over the bar under which the horse runs. This little machine is one of the most mechanically ingenious of the modern automaton toys, and it is made at the cost of only a few pence.

The last I shall show you is this elephant. In this little machine we have a fly-wheel, which with its vertical shaft looks like an umbrella over the Nabob who sits on the top, the vertical shaft passes into the body of the elephant, and there by a simple frictional gearing, rotates a couple of cranks to which the legs are connected. The effect of spinning the umbrella is therefore merely to move the legs backwards and forwards; and, if that were all, no progression could be effected; but each foot rests on a little wheel or roller, which can only rotate in one direction so that while it catches the ground in its backward stroke it rolls freely over it while it is moving forward, and thus each leg in its turn contributes to the progressive movement of the toy.

Now I have come to the end, and it only remains to me to thank you all for having supported me by your presence in such numbers to-night, and to say to you in the words of Othello:

“It gives me wonder great as my content,
To see you here before me.”

Footnotes:

[1] The “Iliad” of Homer, translated by Alexander Pope, xviii. 440-444.

[2] “_Mathematicall Magick_, or the Wonders that may be performed by Mechanicall Geometry.” London, printed by _M. E._ for _Sa: Gellibrand_ at the Brasen Serpent in _Paul’s_ Churchyard, 1648 (page 173).

[3] “Saturnaliorum Conviviorum,” Lib. I. cap. xxiii.

[4] Aulus Gellius, “Noctes Atticæ.” Lib. X. cap. xii.

[5] “_New and Rare Inventions of Water Workes_, shewing the easiest waies to raise water higher than the spring. By which invention the Perpetual Motion is proposed, many hard labours performed And variety of Motions and Sounds produced. First written in French by Isaak de Caus a late famous engineer; and now translated into English by John Leak. London, Printed by Joseph Moxon. Folio. 1659.”

[6] See page 30.

[7] “De Syria Dea.”

[8] Mem. Acad. Sc. Paris, 1729.

[9] Beckmann in his “History of Inventions,” says that these automata found their way to St. Petersburg, and that in 1764, he himself saw them at the Palace of Zarsko-Selo, where he learnt that they had been purchased from Vaucanson, but they were not, at that time, in working order.

[10] “An Attempt to Analyse the Automaton Chess Player of Mr. de Kempelen, with an easy method of imitating the movements of that celebrated figure. Illustrated by original drawings. 8vo. London. 1821.”

[11] The author exhibited Edison’s talking doll at the Conversazione of the Sette of Odd Volumes which was held the following month.

THE FOLLOWING EDITIONS OF OLD WORKS, IN ILLUSTRATION OF THE PAPER, WERE EXHIBITED BY THE AUTHOR.

1. John Wilkins, (Bishop of Chester,) _Mathematicall Magick_.
(First Edition.) Sm. 8vo. London, 1648.

2. —— _Ditto_. (Third Edition.) Sm. 8vo. London, 1680.

3. —— _Ditto_. (Fourth Edition.) Sm. 8vo. London, 1691.

4. Aulus Gellius, _Noctes Atticæ_. Folio. Paris, 1530.

5. —— _Ditto_. Sm. 8vo. Lyons, 1546.

6. —— _Ditto_. 12mo. (Elzevir.) Amsterdam, 1651.

7. Hero, of Alexandria. _Spiritalia_. (Commandinus Edition.)
Sm. 4to. Urbino, 1575.

8. —— _Ditto_. (Aleotti Edition.) Sm. 4to. Ferrara, 1589.

9. —— _Ditto_. (Georgi Edition.) 4to. Urbino, 1592.

10. —— _Ditto_. (Aleotti Edition.) Sm. 4to. Amsterdam, 1680.

11. —— _De gli automati overo machine se movente_. Sm. 4to.
Venice, 1589.

12. —— _Quatro theoremi aggiunti a gli artifitiosi Spiriti_.
Sm. 4to. Ferrara, 1589.

13. John Bate, _The Mysteries of Nature and Art_. Sm. 4to.
London, 1654.
14. Edward Somerset (Marquis of Worcester). _A Century of the Names
and Scantlings of such Inventions, as at present I can
call to mind_. 12mo. London, 1746.

15. Agostino Ramelli. _Le Diverse et artificiose Machine_. Folio.
Paris, 1588.

16. Athanasius Kircher. _Magnes sive de Arte Magnetica_. Folio.
Rome, 1641.

17. Vaucanson. _An Account of the Mechanism of Automaton or image
playing on the German Flute_. 4to. London, 1742.

18. Peter van Musschenbroeck. _Introductio ad Philosophiam
Naturalem_. 4to. Padua, 1768.

19. Jacques Ozanam. _Recréations Mathématiques et physiques_.
8vo. Paris, 1696.

20. Anonymous, (believed to be by Thomas Powell, D.D.) _Humane
Industry, or a History of most Manual Arts_.
Sm. 8vo. London, 1661.

21. Anonymous, (probably Professor Willis.) _An attempt to Analyse
the Automaton Chess player of Mr. de Kempelen_. 8vo.
London, 1821.

22. Cox’s Museum. _Descriptive Catalogue of the Superb and
Magnificent pieces of Mechanism and Jewellery in Cox’s
Museum_. Sm. 4to. London, 1772.

23. Henry Van Etten, _Mathematicall Recreations_. 12mo. London,
1633.

O. V.

A
BIBLIOGRAPHY
OF THE
PRIVATELY PRINTED OPUSCULA

_Issued to the Members of the Sette of Odd Volumes_.

“Books that can be held in the hand, and carried to the fireside,
are the best after all.”—_Samuel Johnson_.

“The writings of the wise are the only riches our posterity cannot
squander.”—_Charles Lamb_.

1. =B. Q.=
A Biographical and Bibliographical Fragment. 22 Pages. Presented
on November the 5th, 1880, by His Oddship C. W. H. WYMAN. 1st
Edition limited to 25 copies.
(Subsequently enlarged to 50 copies.)

2. =Glossographia Anglicana=.
By the late J. TROTTER BROCKETT, F.S.A., London and Newcastle,
author of “Glossary of North Country Words,” to which is
prefixed a Biographical Sketch of the Author by FREDERICK
BLOOMER. (pp. 94.) Presented on July the 7th, 1882, by His
Oddship BERNARD QUARITCH.
Edition limited to 150 copies.

3. =Ye Boke of Ye Odd Volumes=,
from 1878 to 1883. Carefvlly _Compiled_ and painsfvlly _Edited_
by ye vnworthy Historiographer to ye Sette, _Brother_ and
_Vice-President_ WILLIAM MORT THOMPSON, and produced by ye order
and at ye charges of Hys Oddship ye President and Librarian of
ye Sette, Bro. BERNARD QUARITCH. (pp. 136.) Presented on April
the 13th, 1883, by his Oddship BERNARD QUARITCH.
Edition limited to 150 copies.

4. =Love’s Garland;=
Or Posies for Rings, Hand-kerchers, & Gloves, and such pretty
Tokens that Lovers send their Loves. London, 1674. A Reprint.
And Ye Garland of Ye Odd Volumes, (pp. 102.) Presented on
October the 12th, 1883, by Bro. JAMES ROBERTS BROWN.
Edition limited to 250 copies.

5. =Queen Anne Musick=.
A brief Accompt of ye genuine Article, those who performed ye
same, and ye Masters in ye facultie. From 1702 to 1714. (pp. 40.)
Presented on July the 13th, 1883, by Bro. BURNHAM W. HORNER.
Edition limited to 100 copies.

6. =A Very Odd Dream=.
Related by His Oddship W. M. THOMPSON, President of the Sette of
Odd Volumes, at the Freemasons’ Tavern, Great Queen Street, on
June 1st, 1883. (pp. 26.) Presented on July the 13th, 1883, by
His Oddship W. MORT THOMPSON.
Edition limited to 250 copies.

7. =Codex Chiromantiae=.
Being a Compleate Manualle of ye Science and Arte of Expoundynge
ye Past, ye Presente, ye Future, and ye Charactere, by ye
Scrutinie of ye Hande, ye Gestures thereof, and ye Chirographie.
_Codicillus I_.—CHIROGNOMY. (pp. 118.) Presented on November the
2nd, 1883, by Bro. ED. HERON-ALLEN.
Edition limited to 133 copies.

8. =Intaglio Engraving: Past and Present=.
An Address, by Bro. EDWARD RENTON, delivered at the Freemasons’
Tavern, Great Queen Street, on December 5th, 1884. (pp. 74.)
Presented to the Sette by His Oddship EDWARD F. WYMAN.
Edition limited to 200 copies.

9. =The Rights, Duties, Obligations, and Advantages of Hospitality=.
An Address by Bro. CORNELIUS WALFORD, F.I.A, F.S.S., F.R. Hist.
Soc., Barrister-at-Law, Master of the Rolls in the Sette of
Odd Volumes, delivered at the Freemasons’ Tavern, Great Queen
Street, on Friday, February 5th, 1885. (pp. 72.) Presented to
the Sette by His Oddship EDWARD F. WYMAN.
Edition limited to 133 copies.

10. =“Pens, Ink, and Paper:” a Discourse upon Caligraphy=.
The Implements and Practice of Writing, both Ancient and Modern,
with Curiosa, and an Appendix of famous English Penmen, by Bro.
DANIEL W. KETTLE, F.R.G.S., Cosmographer; delivered at the
Freemasons’ Tavern, Great Queen Street, on Friday, November 6th,
1885. (pp. 104.) Presented to the Sette on January 8th, 1886, by
Bro. DANIEL W. KETTLE.
Edition limited to 233 copies.

11. =On Some of the Books for Children of the Last Century=.
With a few Words on the Philanthropic Publisher of St. Paul’s
Churchyard. A paper read at a Meeting of the Sette of Odd
Volumes by Brother CHARLES WELSH, Chapman of the Sette, at the
Freemasons’ Tavern, on Friday, the 8th day of January, 1886.
(pp. 108.) Presented to the Sette by Bro. CHARLES WELSH.
Edition limited to 250 copies.

12. =Frost Fairs on the Thames=.
An Address by Bro. EDWARD WALFORD, M.A., Rhymer to the Sette
of the Odd Volumes, delivered at Willis’s Rooms, on Friday,
December 3rd, 1886. (pp. 76.) Presented to the Sette by His
Oddship GEORGE CLULOW.
Edition limited to 133 copies.

13. =On Coloured Books for Children=.
By Bro. CHARLES WELSH, Chapman to the Sette. Read before the
Sette, at Willis’s Rooms, on Friday, the 6th May, 1887. With a
Catalogue of the Books Exhibited. (pp. 60.) Presented to the
Sette by Bro. JAMES ROBERTS BROWN.
Edition limited to 255 copies.

14. =A Short Sketch of Liturgical History and Literature=.
Illustrated by Examples Manuscript and Printed. A Paper read at
a Meeting of the Sette of Odd Volumes by Bro. BERNARD QUARITCH,
Librarian and First President of the Sette, at Willis’s Rooms,
on Friday, June 10th, 1887. (pp. 86.) Presented to the Sette by
Bro. BERNARD QUARITCH.

15. =Cornelius Walford: In Memoriam=.
By his Kinsman, EDWARD WALFORD, M.A., Rhymer to the Sette of Odd
Volumes. Read before the Sette at Willis’s Rooms, on Friday,
October 21st, 1887. (pp. 60.) Presented to the Sette by Bro.
EDWARD WALFORD, M.A.
Edition limited to 255 copies.

16. =The Sweating Sickness=.
By FREDERICK H. GERVIS, M.R.C.S., Apothecary to the Sette of Odd
Volumes, delivered at Willis’s Rooms, on Friday, November 4th,
1887. (pp. 48.) Presented to the Sette by Bro. FRED. H. GERVIS.
Edition limited to 133 copies.

17. =New Year’s Day in Japan=.
By Bro. CHARLES HOLME, Pilgrim of the Sette of Odd Volumes. Read
before the Sette at Willis’s Rooms on Friday, January 6th, 1888.
(pp. 46.) Presented to the Sette by Bro. CHARLES HOLME.
Edition limited to 133 copies.

18. =Ye Seconde Boke of Ye Odd Volumes=,
from 1883 to 1888. Carefvlly _Compiled_ and painsfvlly _Edited_
by ye vnworthy Historiographer to ye Sette, Bro. WILLIAM MORT
THOMPSON, and produced by ye order and at ye charges of ye
Sette. (pp. 157.)
Edition limited to 115 copies.

19. =Repeats and Plagiarisms in Art, 1888=.
By Bro. JAMES ORROCK, R.I., Connoisseur to the Sette of Odd
Volumes. Read before the Sette at Willis’s Rooms, St. James’s,
on Friday, January 4th, 1889. (pp. 33.) Presented to the Sette
by Bro. JAMES ORROCK, R.I.
Edition limited to 133 copies.

20. =How Dreams Come True=.
A Dramatic Sketch by Bro. J. TODHUNTER, Bard of the Sette of
Odd Volumes. Performed at a Conversazione of the Sette at the
Grosvenor Gallery, on Thursday, July 17th, 1890. (pp. 46.)
Presented to the Sette by His Oddship Bro. CHARLES HOLME.
Edition limited to 600 copies.

21. =The Drama in England during the last Three Centuries=.
By Bro. WALTER HAMILTON, F.R.G.S., Parodist to the Sette of Odd
Volumes. Read before the Sette at Limmer’s Hotel, on Wednesday,
January 8th, 1890. (pp. 80.) Presented to the Sette by Bro.
WALTER HAMILTON.
Edition limited to 201 copies.

22. =Gilbert, of Colchester=.
By Bro. SILVANUS P. THOMPSON, D.Sc., B.A., Magnetizer to the
Sette of Odd Volumes. Read before the Sette at Limmer’s Hotel,
on Friday, July 4th, 1890. (pp. 63.) Presented to the Sette by
Bro. SILVANUS P. THOMPSON.
Edition limited to 249 copies.

23. =Neglected Frescoes in Northern Italy=.
By Bro. DOUGLAS H. GORDON, Remembrancer to the Sette of Odd
Volumes. Read before the Sette at Limmer’s Hotel, on Friday,
December 6th, 1889. (pp. 48.) Presented to the Sette by Bro.
DOUGLAS H. GORDON.
Edition limited to 133 copies.

24. =Recollections of Robert-Houdin=.
By Bro. WILLIAM MANNING. Seer to the Sette of Odd Volumes.
Delivered at a Meeting of the Sette held at Limmer’s Hotel, on
Friday, December 7th, 1890. (pp. 81.) Presented to the Sette by
Bro. WILLIAM MANNING.
Edition limited to 205 copies.

25. =Scottish Witchcraft Trials=.
By Bro. J. W. BRODIE INNES, Master of the Rolls to the Sette of
Odd Volumes. Read before the Sette at a Meeting held at Limmer’s
Hotel, on Friday, November 7th, 1890. (pp. 66.) Presented to the
Sette by Bro. ALDERMAN TYLER.
Edition limited to 245 copies.

26. =Blue and White China=.
By Bro. ALEXANDER T. HOLLINGSWORTH, Artificer to the Sette
of Odd Volumes. Delivered at a Meeting of the Sette held at
Limmer’s Hotel, on Friday, February 6th, 1891. (pp. 70.)
Presented to the Sette by Bro. ALEXANDER T. HOLLINGSWORTH.
Edition limited to 245 copies.

27. =Reading a Poem=.
A Forgotten Sketch by WM. M. THACKERAY. Communicated by Bro.
CHAS. PLUMPTRE JOHNSON (Clerke-atte-Lawe to the Sette of Odd
Volumes), to the Sette at Limmer’s Hotel, on Friday, May 1st,
1891. (pp. xi and 66.) Presented to the Sette by Bro. CHAS.
PLUMPTRE JOHNSON.
Edition limited to 321 copies.

28. =The Ballades of a Blasé Man=,
to which are added some Rondeaux of his Rejuvenescence,
laboriously constructed by the Necromancer to the Sette of
Odd Volumes, (pp. 88.) Presented to the Sette by Bro. EDWARD
HERON-ALLEN, in October, 1891.
Edition limited to 99 copies.

29. =Automata Old and New=.
By Bro. CONRAD W. COOKE, Mechanick to the Sette of Odd Volumes.
Read before the Sette at a Meeting held at Limmer’s Hotel, on
Friday, November 6th, 1891. (pp. 118). Presented to the Sette by
Bro. CONRAD W. COOKE.
Edition limited to 255 copies.

YEAR-BOKES.

I. =The Year-Boke of the Odd Volumes: An Annual Record of the
Transactions of the Sette. Eleventh Year, 1888-9=.

Written and compiled by Bro. W. MORT THOMPSON,
Historiographer to the Sette. Issued November 29th, 1890.

II. =The Year-Boke of the Odd Volumes: An Annual Record of the
Transactions of the Sette. Twelfth Year, 1889-90=.

III. =The Year-Boke of the Odd Volumes: An Annual Record of the
Transactions of the Sette. Thirteenth Year, 1890-1=.

Compiled mainly from the Minute Book of the Sette, and
imprynted for private circulation only.
Edition limited to 133 copies.

FOLIA.

ORIGINATED BY BROTHER HOLME, _Pilgrim_, WHO
PRESENTED EACH BROTHER WITH A
SPECIAL PORTFOLIO.

=1. The Victualling Crew=. Presented by Bro. HENRY
MOORE, A.R.A., _Ancient Mariner_.

=2. Proud Maisie=, from a drawing by Frederick Sandys.
Presented by Bro. TODHUNTER, _Playwright_.

=3. A Rainy Day in Hakone, Japan=. Presented by
Bro. ALFRED EAST, _Landscape Painter_.

=4. The Shelley Memorial=. Photogravure from the
original Statue. Presented by E. ONSLOW FORD,
A.R.A., _Sculptor_.

MISCELLANIES.

1. =Inaugural Address=
of His Oddship, W. M. THOMPSON, Fourth President of the Sette
of Odd Volumes, delivered at the Freemasons’ Tavern, Great
Queen Street, on his taking office on April 13th, &c. (pp. 31.)
Printed by order of Ye Sette, and issued on May the 4th, 1883.
Edition limited to 250 copies.

2. =Codex Chiromantiae=.
_Appendix A_. Dactylomancy, or Finger-ring Magic, Ancient,
Mediæval, and Modern, (pp. 34.) Presented on October the 12th,
1883, by Bro. ED. HERON-ALLEN.
Edition limited to 133 copies.

3. =A President’s Persiflage=.
Spoken by His Oddship W. M. THOMPSON, Fourth President of the
Sette of Odd Volumes, at the Freemasons’ Tavern, Great Queen
Street, at the Fifty-eighth Meeting of the Sette, on December
7th, 1883. (pp. 15.)
Edition limited to 250 copies.

4. =Inaugural Address=
of His Oddship EDWARD F. WYMAN, Fifth President of the Sette of
Odd Volumes, delivered at the Freemasons’ Tavern, Great Queen
Street, on his taking office, on April 4th, 1884, &c. (pp. 56.)
Presented to the Sette by His Oddship EDWARD F. WYMAN.
Edition limited to 133 copies.

5. =Musical London a Century Ago=.
Compiled from the Raw Material, by Brother BURNHAM W. HORNER,
F.R.S.L., F.R. Hist. S., Organist of the Sette of Odd Volumes,
delivered at the Freemasons’ Tavern, Great Queen Street, on
June 6th, 1884. (pp. 32.) Presented to the Sette by His Oddship
EDWARD F. WYMAN.
Edition limited to 133 copies.

6. =The Unfinished Renaissance;=
Or, Fifty Years of English Art. By Bro. GEORGE C. HAITÉ, Author
of “Plant Studies,” &c. Delivered at the Freemasons’ Tavern,
Friday, July 11th, 1884. (pp. 40.) Presented to the Sette by His
Oddship EDWARD F. WYMAN.
Edition limited to 133 copies.

7. =The Pre-Shakespearian Drama=.
By Bro. FRANK IRESON. Delivered at the Freemasons’ Tavern,
Friday, January 2nd, 1885. (pp. 34.) Presented to the Sette by
His Oddship EDWARD F. WYMAN.
Edition limited to 133 copies.

8. =Inaugural Address=
of His Oddship, Brother JAMES ROBERTS BROWN, Sixth President of
the Sette of Odd Volumes, delivered at the Freemasons’ Tavern,
Great Queen Street, on his taking office, on April 17th, 1885,
&c. (pp. 56.) Presented to the Sette by His Oddship JAMES
ROBERTS BROWN.
Edition limited to 133 copies.

9. =Catalogue of Works of Art=
Exhibited at the Freemasons’ Tavern, Great Queen Street, on
Friday, July 11th, 1884. Lent by Members of the Sette of Odd
Volumes. Presented to the Sette by His Oddship EDWARD F. WYMAN.
Edition limited to 255 copies.

10. =Catalogue of Manuscripts and Early-Printed Books=
Exhibited and Described by Bro. B. QUARITCH, the Librarian of
the Sette of Odd Volumes, at the Freemasons’ Tavern, Great Queen
Street, June 5th, 1885. Presented to the Sette by His Oddship
JAMES ROBERTS BROWN.
Edition limited to 255 copies.

11. =Catalogue of Old Organ Music=
Exhibited by Bro. BURNHAM W. HORNER, F.R.S.L., F.R.Hist.S.,
Organist of the Sette of Odd Volumes, at the Freemasons’ Tavern,
Great Queen Street, on Friday, February 5th, 1886. Presented to
the Sette by His Oddship JAMES ROBERTS BROWN.
Edition limited to 133 copies.

12. =Inaugural Address=
of His Oddship Bro. GEORGE CLULOW, Seventh President of the
Sette of Odd Volumes, delivered at the Freemasons’ Tavern, Great
Queen Street, on his taking office, on April 2nd, 1886, &c.
(pp. 64.) Presented to the Sette by His Oddship GEORGE CLULOW.
Edition limited to 133 copies.

13. =A Few Notes about Arabs=.
By Bro. CHARLES HOLME, Pilgrim of the Sette of Odd Volumes. Read
at a Meeting of the “Sette” at Willis’s Rooms, on Friday, May
7th, 1886. (pp. 46.) Presented to the Sette of Odd Volumes by
Bro. CHAS. HOLME.
Edition limited to 133 copies.

14. =Account of the Great Learned Societies and Associations, and of
the Chief Printing Clubs of Great Britain and Ireland= Delivered
by Bro. BERNARD QUARITCH, Librarian of the Sette of Odd Volumes,
at Willis’s Rooms on Tuesday, June 8th, 1886. (pp. 66.)
Presented to the Sette by His Oddship GEORGE CLULOW.
Edition limited to 255 copies.

15. =Report of a Conversazione=
Given at Willis’s Rooms, King Street, St. James’s, on Tuesday,
June 8th, 1886, by his Oddship Bro. GEORGE CLULOW, _President_;
with a summary of an Address on “LEARNED SOCIETIES AND PRINTING
CLUBS,” then delivered by Bro. BERNARD QUARITCH, _Librarian_. By
Bro. W. M. THOMPSON, _Historiographer_. Presented to the Sette
by His Oddship GEORGE CLULOW.
Edition limited to 255 copies.

16. =Codex Chiromantiae=.
_Appendix B_.—A DISCOURSE CONCERNING AUTOGRAPHS AND THEIR
SIGNIFICATIONS. Spoken in valediction at Willis’s Rooms, on
October the 8th, 1886, by Bro. EDWARD HERON-ALLEN. (pp. 45.)
Presented to the Sette by His Oddship GEORGE CLULOW.
Edition limited to 133 copies.

17. =Inaugural Address=
of His Oddship ALFRED J. DAVIES, Eighth President of the Sette
of Odd Volumes, delivered at Willis’s Rooms, on his taking
office on April 4th, 1887. (pp. 64.) Presented to the Sette by
His Oddship ALFRED J. DAVIES.
Edition limited to 133 copies.

18. =Inaugural Address=
of His Oddship Bro. T. C. VENABLES, Ninth President of the Sette
of Odd Volumes, delivered at Willis’s Rooms, on his taking
office on April 6th, 1888. (pp. 54.) Presented to the Sette by
His Oddship T. C. VENABLES.
Edition limited to 133 copies.

19. =Ye Papyrus Roll-Scroll of Ye Sette of Odd Volumes=.
By Bro. J. BRODIE-INNES, Master of the Rolls to the Sette of Odd
Volumes, delivered at Willis’s Rooms, May 4th, 1888. (pp. 39.)
Presented to the Sette by His Oddship T. C. VENABLES.
Edition limited to 133 copies.

20. =Inaugural Address=
of His Oddship Bro. H. J. GORDON ROSS, Tenth President of the
Sette of Odd Volumes, delivered at Willis’s Rooms. King Street,
St. James’s Square, on his taking office, April 5th, 1889.
Edition limited to 255 copies.

=WORKS DEDICATED TO THE SETTE=.

=The Ancestry of the Violin=.
London, 1882. EDWARD HERON-ALLEN.

=An Odd Volume for Smokers=.
London, 1889. WALTER HAMILTON.

=The Blue Friars=.
London, 1889. W. H. K. WRIGHT.

=Quatrains=.
London, 1892. W. WILSEY MARTIN.

=Ye Sette of Odd Volumes=.

Original Member. 1878. BERNARD QUARITCH, _Librarian_,
15, Piccadilly, W.
(President, 1878, 1879, and 1882).

Original Member. 1878. EDWARD RENTON, _Herald_,
44, South Hill Park, Hampstead, N.W.
(Vice-President, 1880; Secretary, 1882).

Original Member. 1878. W. MORT THOMPSON, _Historiographer_,
16, Carlyle Square, Chelsea, S.W.
(Vice-President, 1882; President, 1883).

Original Member. 1878. CHARLES W. H. WYMAN, _Typographer_,
103, King Henry’s Road, Primrose Hill, N.W.
(Vice-President, 1878 and 1879; President,
1880).

Original Member. 1878. EDWARD F. WYMAN, _Treasurer_,
19, Blomfield Road, Maida Vale, W.
(Secretary, 1878 and 1879; President, 1884).

1878. ALFRED J. DAVIES, _Attorney-General_,
Fairlight, Uxbridge Road, Ealing, W.
(Vice-President, 1881; Secretary, 1884;
President, 1887).

1878. G. R. TYLER, Alderman, late High Sheriff of
the City of London, _Stationer_,
17, Penywern Road, South Kensington, W.
(Vice-President, 1886).

1879. T. C. VENABLES, _Antiquary_,
9, Marlborough Place, N.W.
(President, 1888).

1879. JAMES ROBERTS BROWN, _Alchymist_,
44, Tregunter Road, South Kensington, W.
(Secretary, 1880; Vice-President, 1883;
President, 1885).

1880. BURNHAM W. HORNER, F.R.S.L., _Organist_,
Matson Red House, Richmond Park, Richmond, S.W.
(Vice-President, 1889).

1882. WILLIAM MURRELL, M.D., _Leech_ (President),
17, Welbeck Street, Cavendish Square, W.
(Secretary, 1883; Vice-President, 1885).

1883. HENRY GEORGE LILEY, _Art Director_,
Radnor House, Radnor Place, Hyde Park, W.

1883. GEORGE CHARLES HAITÉ, F.L.S., _Art Critic_,
Ormsby Lodge, The Avenue, Bedford Park, W.
(Vice-President, 1887; President, 1891).

1883. EDWARD HERON-ALLEN, _Necromancer_,
(Vice-President),
3, Northwick Terrace, N.W. (Secretary, 1885).

1884. WILFRID BALL, R. P. E., _Painter-Etcher_,
4, Albemarle Street, W.
(Master of Ceremonies, 1890; Vice-President,
1891).

1884. DANIEL W. KETTLE, F.R.G.S., _Cosmographer_,
Hayes Common, near Beckenham, Kent
(Secretary, 1886).

1884. CHARLES WELSH, _Chapman_,
The Poplars, Forest Lane, Walthamstow
(Vice-President, 1888).

1886. CHARLES HOLME, F.L.S., _Pilgrim_,
The Red House, Bexley Heath, Kent
(Secretary, 1887; President, 1890).

1886. FREDK. H. GERVIS, M. R.C.S., _Apothecary_,
1, Fellows Road, Haverstock Hill, N.W.

1887. JOHN W. BRODIE-INNES, _Master of the Rolls_,
14, Dublin Street, Edinburgh
(Secretary, 1888).

1887. HENRY MOORE, A.R.A., _Ancient Mariner_,
Collingham, Maresfield Gardens, N.W.

Supplemental Odd Volumes.

1887. JAMES ORROCK, R.I., _Connoisseur_,
48, Bedford Square, W.C.

1888. ALFRED EAST, R.I., _Landscape Painter_;
14, Adamson Road, Belsize Park, N.W.

1888. WALTER HAMILTON, _Parodist_,
Keeper of the Archives,
Ellarbee, Elms Road, Clapham Common, S.W.

1888. DOUGLAS H. GORDON, _Remembrancer_,
(Master of Ceremonies),
41, Tedworth Square, S.W. (Secretary, 1889).

1888. ALEXANDER T. HOLLINGSWORTH, _Artificer_,
172, Sutherland Avenue, Maida Vale, W.
(Vice-President, 1890).

1888. JOHN LANE, _Bibliographer_,
37, Southwick Street, Hyde Park, W.
(Odd Councillor, 1891; Secretary, 1890;
Master of Ceremonies, 1891).

1888. JOHN TODHUNTER, M.D., _Playwright_ (Secretary),
Orchard Croft, The Orchard, Bedford Park, W.

1889. FRANCIS ELGAR, LL.D., _Shipwright_,
113, Cannon Street, E.C.

1889. WILLIAM MANNING, _Seer_,
21, Redcliffe Gardens, S.W.
(Secretary, 1891; Odd Councillor).

1890. SILVANUS P. THOMPSON, D.Sc., F.R.S., _Magnetizer_,
Morland, Chislett Road, N.W.

1890. CONRAD W. COOKE, _Mechanick_,
The Lindens, Larkhall Rise, S.W.

1890. E. ONSLOW FORD, A.R.A., _Sculptor_,
62, Acacia Road, N.W.

1891. CHARLES PLUMPTRE JOHNSON, _Clerke at Law_ (Auditor),
23, Cork Street, W.

1891. FREDERIC VILLIERS, _War Correspondent_, Mashrabeyah,
65, Chancery Lane, W.C.

1891. MARCUS B. HUISH, LL.B., _Arts-man_,
21, Essex Villas, Phillimore Gardens, W.

1892. W. WILSEY MARTIN, F.R.G.S., _Laureate_,
15, Delamere Terrace, W.

1892. HERBERT WARD, _Wanderer_,
Shepherd Hill House, near Rickmansworth.

1892. FREDERICK YORK POWELL, _Ignoramus_,
The Corner, Priory Road, Bedford Park, W.

1892. ERNEST CLARKE, _Yeoman_,
10, Addison Road, Bedford Park, W.

1892. PAUL BEVAN, _Ready Reckoner_,
46, Queen’s Gate Terrace, S.W.

1892. MAX PEMBERTON, _Hack_,
34, Clifton Hill, St. John’s Wood, N.W.

CHISWICK PRESS:——C. WHITTINGHAM AND CO.,
TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE.

End of Project Gutenberg's Automata Old and New, by Conrad William Cooke