Satyr Head Automaton. Paris: Voisin, ca. 1890. Magnificent and early magician’s automaton crafted to represent the disembodied head of a Satyr, replete with realistic hair, eyes, and mouth, and with two pointed green horns springing from its head. In performance, the conjurer would have cards selected, noted, returned to him, and lost in the pack. The Satyr head, resting on the magician’s table, would then nod back and forth, acknowledge the presence of those audience members assisting in the trick, and then reveal the chosen cards by having them pop from the top of his head, and reproduce the borrowed watch from its mouth. Handsome papier-mâché head finely finished, the intricate mechanical brass works professionally refurbished to good working order. Six levers at the rear of the platform on which the head sits operate it, including the nodding head, moving eyes, opening and closing mouth, and the actions that produce the cards and watch from the figure’s head and mouth, respectively. Holes in the base of the platform represent openings through which pistons in a conjurer’s table could be used to operate the head remotely by an offstage assistant. A tube running to the figure’s mouth could be used to hold a cigarette. Similar Satyr head automatons were offered for sale by all great conjuring depots of the Victorian era, including Martinka, Basch, and Bland. Few were crafted due to the extremely high asking price for such intricate pieces of mechanism. As a result, only a small handful of these devices have survived the intervening century-and-a-half. Overall dimensions of 10 ½ x 10 ½ x 24”. With a custom-made protective carrying case. A rare and desirable classical conjuring device.