Ingenious mechanisms, and built to last. The first puzzle is how to encode a single movement, then how to transition to the next, and then the exquisite craftsmanship in encoding and perfecting all of the movements. Spectacular!
1963: The Swiss DOLLS of YOUR NIGHTMARES | Tonight | Weird and Wonderful | BBC Archive 0837am 26.8.24 i think the earliest automatons emerged during the 17th C... now we're a society of Ai and faux human. which is a hell of a lot more frightening than this. these are cartesian events of death, though. cool all the same... oldham road. walk up there.....
Oh, wow! I'd heard of these but never looked before and I must say they're incredibly impressive today so they must've floored people when they were first built! Amazing.
The wonderful Alan Whicker He presented many programmes and was a great journalist And his travels around the 🌍 When the BBC was at the top of its game Sadly not now Those automaton’s of quality are worth many £000’s today Reminds me of Etch-A-Sketch when I was a kid in the 70’s Not many around I expect 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🏴🏴🏴👍 👍 👍 🙏🙏🙏
@@markbrown4039 yes he was part of ‘election night’ I gave up the BBC around 2017. During Covid lockdowns I found and watched many videos ‘behind the scenes’ of every James Bond film up to Tim. Cubby and Harry ‘invited’ Alan to go behind the scenes of You Only Live Twice.
Visited Garden Suburb Junior School when I was about six years old and talked to us about his travels apparently his mother and our school mistress were or had been friends.
The Writer was actually programmable, so that any message could be written by rearranging the order of cams corresponding to each letter. Marianne might have been programmable and able to play different pieces. Because the keys are arranged chromatically and like a split QUERTY keyboard, it suggests it might be programmable because it looks like he went to the trouble of providing access to all the keys.
I wonder if the letters & pictures started as engravings that a stylus could then trace to somehow determine the contour of each cam. The idea that he started with the cams is too difficult to think about. Either way, he must've been completely obsessed. I bet someone will use AI and 3D printing to create mechanical computers & automatons just for novelty, if not also with practical applications.
That is WAY cool! And I thought the movie Hugo was just some creative fantasy. I didn't know automatons were a real thing. That is absolutely mesmerizing!
I always liked the movie, but I too thought it was just a creative reimagining of Méliès' life. Until I read Méliès' Wikipedia page s few months ago. The details in the movie are astonishingly close -- the little shop in the train station, his destruction of his works, and so on. Only Hugo's story itself, of course. is imaginary. I never knew there were actual similar automata in existence. Compare the workings shown of the movie model with those of the real ones in the BBC clip!
Yes, they were fascinated by mechanical contraptions like these back then. We also have the chess-playing ‘Turk’ and there was a man-sized robot propelled by steam power. Maybe the dancing ‘Coppelia’ doll in Offenbach’s “Tales of Hoffman” was inspired by dolls such as these three.
I think these are from the old world, found after the mud flood and kept by the upper classes. With made up History. I'd love to see one made traditionally today as i don't believe the forces that be could with modern day, 3D printing.
I think this is a sad demonstration of how stupid and childish the BBC and the viewing public have become. 1963: aren't these automata interesting? 2024: YOUR NIGHTMARES
Alan Whicker was a fabulous presenter and my entire family used to be glued to “Whicker’s World” - he found the most fascinating subjects to examine and did it in a really engaging way.
@Mark-Singleton no way this is 18th century. The industrial revolution was barely underway. Metallurgy was crude and unsophisticated. One way or another we have been lied to.
@@robbflynn4325 oh we are lied to, but this last 100years. Metallurgy was far more advanced than you might think, & fine automata & clocks were built in Germany in the 1300’s during the Augsburg dynasty. These piece’s made in Neufchâtel by Pierre Jaquet Droz are amongst the finest creations from his workshops, he also built fine musical clocks & the earliest singing birds. You can go back a century before his time and check out the astronomical clocks built by Thomas Tompion of London. Check out the Golden Peacock in The Hermitage, built for Catherine the great, incredible feat of art / engineering. Films of it here on UA-cam. Built by James Cox in London, responsible for the Silver Swan at Barnard Castle. I have studied this technology all my life & specialise in very early mechanical music, you can see some early pieces on my UA-cam channel. In fact, there is a musical organ clock from Jaquet Droz workshop on my channel. It belongs to a German friend, unfortunately the value is out of my league. ( edit: I have just set visibility to public, hope you enjoy )
incredible that these were produced in the 18th century....this is true engineering craftsmanship
Genius! But whoever did the eyelashes didn't quite pull it off....
Ingenious mechanisms, and built to last. The first puzzle is how to encode a single movement, then how to transition to the next, and then the exquisite craftsmanship in encoding and perfecting all of the movements. Spectacular!
@amandajstar right but 18th century upper class makeup wasn’t really that great on humans either 😅
1963: The Swiss DOLLS of YOUR NIGHTMARES | Tonight | Weird and Wonderful | BBC Archive 0837am 26.8.24 i think the earliest automatons emerged during the 17th C... now we're a society of Ai and faux human. which is a hell of a lot more frightening than this. these are cartesian events of death, though. cool all the same... oldham road. walk up there.....
Nothing "nightmarish" about these - they are charmant!
Beyond amazing. They did this 300 years ago, with the tools and technology of that time. Imagine what those engineers could do today?
astonishing!! 200 years old?? we marvel now at 3Dprinting and it was painstakingly done by clockwork 200 years ago..mind blowing
Oh, wow! I'd heard of these but never looked before and I must say they're incredibly impressive today so they must've floored people when they were first built! Amazing.
These are absolutely fascinating. I am enchanted by these dolls.
A son and daughter to be proud of.
The wonderful Alan Whicker
He presented many programmes and was a great journalist
And his travels around the 🌍
When the BBC was at the top of its game
Sadly not now
Those automaton’s of quality are worth many £000’s today
Reminds me of Etch-A-Sketch when I was a kid in the 70’s
Not many around I expect
🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🏴🏴🏴👍 👍 👍 🙏🙏🙏
Been watching a couple of 1960s election videos on UA-cam. He always did the live shots from Trafalgar Square with people jumping into the fountain.
@@markbrown4039 yes he was part of ‘election night’
I gave up the BBC around 2017.
During Covid lockdowns I found and watched many videos ‘behind the scenes’ of every James Bond film up to Tim.
Cubby and Harry ‘invited’ Alan to go behind the scenes of You Only Live Twice.
I'm sure they're worth millions -- and from a historical perspective, essentially priceless.
@@amandajstar yes £millions, in fact priceless
Perhaps still in museums across the🌍
❤️🏴🏴
Visited Garden Suburb Junior School when I was about six years old and talked to us about his travels apparently his mother and our school mistress were or had been friends.
Fascinating! Love it!
I'm not a doll fan in general but i am always astounded by the complexity of these beautiful examples ❤
Incredible craftmanship .
Mind-blowing that these were made in the 1700's! He would have made an excellent programmer in 2024.
For real. These are actual analog computers.
If he were alive today they would have sent him to "Funny farm" for being too far-out.
Marianne should join the robot band Compressorhead! 🤘😈
Never thought I'd see 18th century dog todger being drawn live
The Writer was actually programmable, so that any message could be written by rearranging the order of cams corresponding to each letter. Marianne might have been programmable and able to play different pieces. Because the keys are arranged chromatically and like a split QUERTY keyboard, it suggests it might be programmable because it looks like he went to the trouble of providing access to all the keys.
I wonder if the letters & pictures started as engravings that a stylus could then trace to somehow determine the contour of each cam. The idea that he started with the cams is too difficult to think about. Either way, he must've been completely obsessed. I bet someone will use AI and 3D printing to create mechanical computers & automatons just for novelty, if not also with practical applications.
Beautiful...creepy but beautiful ❤️
"CentureaH"
A new word for my rich Whicker quiver.
Thank you BBC 🏹🇬🇧
That is WAY cool! And I thought the movie Hugo was just some creative fantasy. I didn't know automatons were a real thing. That is absolutely mesmerizing!
@indigohammer5732 no I thought they were just a cool work of fiction.
I always liked the movie, but I too thought it was just a creative reimagining of Méliès' life. Until I read Méliès' Wikipedia page s few months ago. The details in the movie are astonishingly close -- the little shop in the train station, his destruction of his works, and so on. Only Hugo's story itself, of course. is imaginary. I never knew there were actual similar automata in existence. Compare the workings shown of the movie model with those of the real ones in the BBC clip!
If Hamble from Playschool was automated - that would be a TRUE NIGHTMARE You won't understand me if you're under 40
I'm 39 (40 in November) and used to watch Play School with Floella Benjamin back in the 80s. We had Humpty and Jemima toys at my nursery.
I'm 58 and I have no idea what you're talking about, so kind of a small window!
I loved Hamble !
Yes, they were fascinated by mechanical contraptions like these back then. We also have the chess-playing ‘Turk’ and there was a man-sized robot propelled by steam power. Maybe the dancing ‘Coppelia’ doll in Offenbach’s “Tales of Hoffman” was inspired by dolls such as these three.
The Turk was fake. Had a midget in the box below.
I grew up with alan on his advetures
Jaquet Droz unmistakably a Genius
reminds me of the automaton that featured in Martin Scorsese's film "Hugo"
How many of you are here because this on the BBC Archive on Radio 2 this morning?
Amazing...I wonder where they are now and, if they still exist...and I don't mean Mr Whicker 😂
Still going strong en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaquet-Droz_automata
@paulgjackson Ah, thank you for that Paul, very interesting!
House of Automata has a channel on UA-cam. 🌷
I don't think the one with the glasses works quite as well as the others 😁
The most beautiful automaton is the silver swan in the Bowes Museum from the 1770’s
This is where Skynet first started.
I think these are from the old world, found after the mud flood and kept by the upper classes. With made up History. I'd love to see one made traditionally today as i don't believe the forces that be could with modern day, 3D printing.
I think this is a sad demonstration of how stupid and childish the BBC and the viewing public have become.
1963: aren't these automata interesting?
2024: YOUR NIGHTMARES
So true. People living lives so devoid of actual danger that they're afraid of mechanized dolls.I mean, that's just sad.
Why are you scared of dolls?
Incredible things
Presenter is like nails on a chalk board though, needs to stop trying to sound fancy
That is his natural voice.
Alan Whicker was a fabulous presenter and my entire family used to be glued to “Whicker’s World” - he found the most fascinating subjects to examine and did it in a really engaging way.
I have a doll/skin/limb phobia and how this came onto my screen i dont know.repulsive doesnt come close
I do not believe this.
They are real, and a copy of the writer automatonwas made several years ago & the figure: Mr.Putin
ua-cam.com/video/O8bepZ6ZYf4/v-deo.htmlsi=6UULETQdP416GCCy
@Mark-Singleton no way this is 18th century. The industrial revolution was barely underway. Metallurgy was crude and unsophisticated. One way or another we have been lied to.
@@robbflynn4325 oh we are lied to, but this last 100years. Metallurgy was far more advanced than you might think, & fine automata & clocks were built in Germany in the 1300’s during the Augsburg dynasty. These piece’s made in Neufchâtel by Pierre Jaquet Droz are amongst the finest creations from his workshops, he also built fine musical clocks & the earliest singing birds. You can go back a century before his time and check out the astronomical clocks built by Thomas Tompion of London. Check out the Golden Peacock in The Hermitage, built for Catherine the great, incredible feat of art / engineering. Films of it here on UA-cam. Built by James Cox in London, responsible for the Silver Swan at Barnard Castle.
I have studied this technology all my life & specialise in very early mechanical music, you can see some early pieces on my UA-cam channel. In fact, there is a musical organ clock from Jaquet Droz workshop on my channel. It belongs to a German friend, unfortunately the value is out of my league. ( edit: I have just set visibility to public, hope you enjoy )
@@robbflynn4325oh grow a brain, flat earther too? You should be embarrassed commenting this.