Dear MMDs,  The specialized auction for automata and mechanical music
which was held in Chartres on May 20th was a success, especially for
automatas, some selling for very high prices.  (To convert into U.S.
dollars, just add circa 50 percent to the hammer price in euros, so
you take into account the exchange difference, and also the 15 percent
premium).  200 lots were for sale, with the presence of many French
and international potential buyers.

Many small artifacts in mechanical music (from a few tens of euros),
and also some good pieces :

- A clock base with a good 20 cm cylinder playing on 102 teeth (by
groups of four) (No. 568 of the catalogue) fetched a reasonable price,
1600 euros.

- A good upright Polyphon (49.5 cm discs) (No. 563) sold for
5400 euros.

- The rare book, "Le monde des automates", by Chapuis and Gelis
(1928, 2 vol.), (No. 535 of the auction), fetched a very high price
at 2400 euros.

- A very curious and good Junghans wooden alarm clock with 5 small
interchangeable cylinders (No. 620), made 1650 euros.

- A very curious and unusual musical folding chair for a child
(No. 572) sold for 1000 euros.

- A Magic Organa Hohner accordion (No. 623) for 4600 euros.

- A good Black Forest organ clock (two stops of 22 pipes each)
(No. 617), for 6800 euros.

- And many organettes, musical boxes, bird cages, etc. and many
fairground animals, and a few phonographs.

There were no large organs or pianos this time.

The automatas were actually the strong feature of that auction:

- An almost record price was fetched by the "bird trainer" by Gustave
Vichy (No. 554) at 250,000 euros.

- Second were the two "impertinent clowns" (No. 576), by Vichy
Triboulet, for 82,000 euros.

- Third was "The magic cupboard" by the same maker (No. 557) for
75,000 euros (a boy tries to get a jam jar in a cupboard, but his
grandmother's face scolds him).

- Fourth was by Vichy-Triboulet a clown performing on a barrel
(needing restoration) (No. 553) for 66,000 euros.

- Fifth was a wonderful and rather early "clown trying to chase a fly
from his nose", by Phalibois, with a rare wooden mechanism (No. 560)
for 50,000 euros.

- Happily, many other good and interesting automatas were more
affordable, including cats "walking, turning around, moving its tail
and mewing" by Decamps and Roullet Decamps, for 1000 euros or less.
Look at the catalogue.

The next auction will be held beginning of December (2d or 9th).
The catalogue with or without images (as well as catalogues of previous
auctions), and soon the prices fetched are posted on the MMD web site
at : http://mmd.foxtail.com/Auctions/

Thanks again to Robbie, Joyce and Jody.

Kind regards from France,
Philippe Rouillé (Paris, France)
http://www.musicamecanica.org/

 [ Merci, Philippe.  I'll post the prices paid tomorrow, at
 [ http://mmd.foxtail.com/Auctions/Chartres0705/index.html
 [ -- Robbie