Caterpillar automaton from 1820

Cory Doctorow 8:21 am Mon Nov 1, 2010

Dug North sez, "The Ethiopian Caterpillar is an exquisite automaton from 1820 going to auction at Sotheby's November. Attributed to Henri Maillardet — creator of the famous drawing automaton — only six automaton caterpillars are known to exist. Its value is estimated to be somewhere between $350,000 and $450,000."

Ethiopian Caterpillar automaton by Maillardet

(Thanks, Dug North!)

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