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an open book with a drawing of a man on a thronean open book with a picture of a crown on top of it
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1646 - Automatic Machines
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Estimate €3,600 - €4,500
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Description
Automatic Machines Knauss von, Friedrich Self-writing marvellous machines, as well as many other works of art and masterpieces, and numerous problems now solved. With an engraved frontispiece (portrait) and 11 (10 folded) copper plates. Vienna, self-published (Schulz-Gastheim), 1780. (18), 170, (2) pp. Contemporary leather binding with a round label. Poggendorff I, 1279. - UCBA II, 1098. - NDB XII, 162. - The first and only edition of the description of his mechanical automata, written by Friedrich von Knauss (1724–1789) himself and published privately. Knauss, born in Aldingen am Neckar, worked from 1749 as a watchmaker and mechanic in the service of Charles of Lorraine and followed him to Vienna in 1757, where Emperor Franz I Stephan appointed him court mechanic. At the Viennese court, he served as inspector of the Mathematical and Physical Cabinet and rose to become one of the most significant automaton builders of the 18th century. At the heart of his work were the self-writing machines, the most famous of which – the ‘all-writing or self-writing wonder machine’ presented to Emperor Franz I in 1760 – used springs, lever and scanning mechanisms, imitated the writing motion of the human hand and was capable of writing 68 Latin characters; at its first demonstration, the automaton composed a letter in French. This construction – a globe supported by two bronze eagles with six hinged segments, concealing the clockwork writing mechanism and crowned by an allegorical figure that transfers the specified letters to paper with a quill — is one of the earliest known writing automata and, alongside those of the Jaquet-Droz family, is regarded as a milestone in the history of automata. In addition, Knauss developed a copying machine for the Emperor, which could produce multiple copies of a document simultaneously. The ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) explicitly lists Knauss’s writing automaton in its overview of the global history of computing and describes it as a ‘programmable automatic handwriting machine’. Knauss thus forms part of a tradition of 18th-century mechanical automata that were the first to realise devices with complex, stored sequence programmes – such as Jacques de Vaucanson’s flute player (1737) and its punch-card control system, later further developed by Jacquard. – One copper plate trimmed slightly close to the mounting line; two copper plates with minimal staining, one of which has two small restored holes (minor loss of image); otherwise a good, clean copy. Very rare. First and only edition of the description of his mechanical automata, written and published at his own expense by Friedrich von Knauss (1724–1789). Knauss, born in Aldingen am Neckar, worked from 1749 as a watchmaker and mechanic in the service of Charles of Lorraine and followed him to Vienna in 1757, where Emperor Franz I Stephan appointed him court mechanic. At the Viennese court, he served as inspector of the mathematical-physical cabinet and rose to become one of the most important builders of automatons of the eighteenth century. The core of his work consists of the self-writing machines, the most famous of which, the ‘all-writing’ or ‘self-writing miraculous machine’ presented to Emperor Franz I in 1760, imitated the writing motion of the human hand by means of a pen, levers and cam mechanisms, and was capable of writing 68 Latin characters; at its first demonstration, the automaton composed a letter in French. This construction – a globe supported by two bronze eagles, with six hinged segments concealing the clockwork writing mechanism, crowned by an allegorical figure that commits the prescribed letters to paper with a pen – ranks amongst the earliest known writing automata and, alongside those of the Jaquet-Droz family, is regarded as a milestone in the history of automata. In addition, Knauss developed a copying machine for the emperor capable of producing several copies of a document simultaneously. The ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) explicitly lists Knauss’s writing automaton in its overview of global computing history, describing it as a “programmable automatic handwriting machine”. Knauss thus takes his place in a line of eighteenth-century mechanical automata that were the first to realise devices with a complex, stored sequence of operations – among them also Jacques de Vaucanson’s flute player (1737) and its punch-card control system, later developed further by Jacquard. One copperplate trimmed rather closely to the border, two copperplates with minimal foxing, one of which has two small restored pinholes (negligible loss to the image); otherwise a fine, clean copy. Very rare. This lot is subject to standard tax. A 24.95% buyer’s premium is payable on the hammer price, and 7% (Books and Art) or 19% VAT (Manuscripts, Screenprints, Offset Prints, Photographs) is payable on the final invoice amount within the European Union. This lot is subject to the standard tax regime. A 24.95% buyer’s premium applies to the hammer price, and 7% (books and art) or 19% VAT (manuscripts, screen prints, offset prints and photographs) applies to the final invoice amount within the European Union.
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About the sale Valuable books, prints, historical photographs
Auction location
Auction time 10/24/2026 at 10:00 AM
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