Automata and Mechanical Toys

Rating:
Summary: A Good Buy for Beginning Builders
Review: Depending on what your interests are, this can be a valuable addition to your library. It is not for collectors, in my opinion, and most of the examples are on the "folk art" side: crude, kitschy, and sometimes even made of junk. There are profiles of a few builders who make complex automata demonstrating fine craftsmanship, such as the wonderful Keith Newstead and John Grayson. I would have preferred to have some detailed explanations of how some of their automata work, though. The REAL strength of this book is if you are beginning to make your own automata and would like to have a "kit" to experiment with. The book contains full sized plans for an experimenter's "kit" which is really nice. I have Robert Addam's "How to Design and Make Automata" and CMT's book, but they both only have crude drawings with no dimensions. I made photocopies of the parts and then used Xylene to transfer directly onto plywood and cut the parts out on a scroll saw, saving a great deal of time and giving me a nice litte platform for experimenting. This alone makes the book a must have for the beginning builder.

Rating:
Summary: A Must for Automata Enthusiasts!
Review: This book is everything you could ask for in book on contemporary artistic automata.

Each chapter has a brief summary of the topic in question -- say tools and materials. Next, each chapter moves on to showcase the work of two or three automata artists with many pictures and a page or two of information about each artist.

The photographs of automata in this book are outstanding. You can really get a sense for the devices, their construction, and most especially, their finishes.

If you love automata, want to see more of them, and want to learn about some of the top automata artists in the contemporary scene, this book is a must-have.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent book! Great color pictures and diagrams
Review: This has got to be one of the best books on the subject of automata and mechanical theatre. There are lots of great color pictures and diagrams to build your own automata. Worth the money!