Engraving of Maillardet's Writer, Harpsichord Player, and Draftsman

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An engraving from 1775 of four automata designed by Pierre Jacquet-Droz and displayed in London. The three automata figures shown in the print are now at the Musée d’Histoire, La Chaux de Fonds, Switzerland. The print is held at the British Museum,2003,0531.96.

Full description

The three child automata shown in this engraving were exhibited by Henri Louis Maillardet and his father Pierre Maillardet in the Great Room at 6 King Street, Covent Garden, London, beginning in 1775. Spread across the top of the Covant Garden building is a scene referred to a the Grotto, composed of rocks and garden structures. In Maria Edgeworth's novel, Belinda (1801), Lady Delacour visits this exhibit with her daughter Helena to reconnect through an educational experience. The British Museum provides extensive information about this engraving, the automata, and their creators.

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    Untitled engraving. Four mechanical toys driven by clockwork designed by Pierre Jacquet-Droz on a single sheet: a scribe, draughtsman and harpsichord player, and an elaborate grotto; before letter, 1775.
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    © The Trustees of the British Museum