Oops..  Sorry I didn't read all my emails...  Andrew's answer about the
original pen is here.

-----Original Message-----
From: phono-l-boun...@oldcrank.org [mailto:phono-l-boun...@oldcrank.org] On
Behalf Of Andrew Baron
Sent: Wednesday, December 28, 2011 4:41 PM
To: Antique Phonograph List
Subject: Re: [Phono-L] OT: clockwork automaton article in NY Times today

Thank you Greg (and also Jim and Steve for chiming in, and Jim for noting
the YouTube videos).

The Youtube video of the live demonstration isn't produced at all; more like
home movies, taken at the Franklin Institute upon the dual-event of first
public showing of the automaton in some years, combined with a book signing
by Brian Selznick back at the place where this vital element of his book
(and movie HUGO) was discovered.

In the event video, it's fun to hear Brian talk about how we discovered the
original writing implement body hidden away within the interior framework of
the machine.  We still don't know what the original writing tip was, but
it's likely that it was a small metal nib for ink.  The original, ornamented
writing implement body had apparently never been seen in the 80 years that
the automaton had resided at the Franklin.

Here are the links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfeNC28vpYo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwkkDfs-RKg


On Dec 27, 2011, at 9:27 PM, Greg Bogantz wrote:

>   Congratulations, Andy, on getting this priceless piece of history
restored to full functionality.  That must have been a privelege as well as
great fun to do.  What a wonderful challenge in trying to figure out what
each piece of the mechanism did.  I'm constantly amazed at the delicacy and
precision of mechanisms such as watches and timepieces that were made
hundreds of years ago. I have often wondered how these precision mechs were
even made so many years ago before the availability of modern materials and
processes.  I'm always fascinated by this stuff.  Thanks for the link.
> 
> Greg Bogantz
> 
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Andrew Baron" <a...@popyrus.com>
> To: "Antique Phonograph List" <phono-l@oldcrank.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, December 27, 2011 11:00 PM
> Subject: [Phono-L] OT: clockwork automaton article in NY Times today
> 
> 
>> For those phonograph enthusiasts whose interests extend into other
mechanical realms, Today's edition of the New York Times (Science Times
section) ran an article about the drawing/writing automaton that  restored
for Philadelphia's Franklin Institute Science Museum.
>> 
>> Here's the link:
>>
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/27/science/maillardet-automaton-inspired-mart
in-scorseses-film-hugo.html?_r=2&seid=auto&smid=tw-nytimes&pagewanted=all
>> 
>> Best to all,
>> Andrew Baron
>> _______________________________________________
>> Phono-L mailing list
>> http://phono-l.org 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Phono-L mailing list
> http://phono-l.org
> 

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