Haunted House Automaton

Frederick and Arthur Bolland began produced coin operated working models in 1948 till around 1975, recycling crane cabinets that they had purchased cheaply when rationing was still in place and prizes for the cranes were hard to obtain. They utilised the original coin-slot mechanisms and some of the cams to animate the new models. The man and this room were based on a real aristocrat who tried unsuccessfully to sue the company! This model is on display along with many others in Simon Drake’s House of Magic in London, only about two miles from where Bolland’s original workshops once stood. There are a few more photos of my automata on my website here www.houseofmagic.co.uk/automata