A
World of Automatons
Pictures : St�phane Dev�
I - The Ancient World
From ancient times on, man has made robots. All
through history, he has "sought to create animated machines reproducing the
movements of living creatures". In Pharaonic Egypt, priests had statues made in
which certain parts could be manipulated out of sight of the people, so as to
make them believe that the statues were alive. The priests used these statues to
work on the spectators' imagination and increase their religious belief. In
Ancient Greece and Rome, too, many automatons were constructed. Their workings
were based on simple principles of physics (the movement of liquids and air
pressure). The construction of these robots led to real research in physics and
produced results that were often imitated in later times.
II - The Rediscovery of Automatons
After a long period in which robots
were forgotten, they became familiar again to ordinary people in the 14th
century, with the construction of animated clocks in the great cathedrals. The
scenes represented human figures and animals that were set in motion on the
stroke of each hour. The best known are the astronomical clock at Strasbourg,
the one at Dijon and the famous clock at St Mark's in Venice. Then came the
Renaissance and the magical gardens created in the domains of the great lords.
Philip, Duke of Artois, in his ch�teau at Hesdin, installed a magical spectacle
in which the visitor was splashed with water or covered in flour as he wandered
amongst the fountains, musical robots and birds made of metal. All these
mechanisms were worked by hydraulic power. Unfortunately these wonders no longer
exist. They have all vanished.
III - The Human Robot
In the 17th century, a new automaton appeared -
the human robot. This automaton had a very complex clockwork mechanism and took
several years to design and build. The robot was able to draw, write, play a
small musical instrument, and sometimes pronounce a few words. Each robot was
made individually, like a marvellous piece of precision jewellery. Only a few
examples remain, and are to be found in museums, or occasionally in private
collections.
IV - 19th Century, the Golden Age of Automatons
At the end of the 19th
century the toy industry developed considerably owing to technical progress and
the influence of the numerous international exhibitions. Automaton makers, who
worked in the centre of Paris, were now able to produce more copies at
reasonable prices. At the same time, rich families fell under their spell. The
"objet d'art" side of the automaton made it a collector's item and it became
exceedingly fashionable. These clockwork toys were for adults to look at rather
than for children to play with. Today many collectors continue the tradition and
so enhance the importance of many unique or rare items.
V - Shop Window Automatons - The Magic of Advertising
At the end of the
last century, the creation of department stores accentuated the competition
between shopkeepers. They started to publicize their wares, and within a few
years there was a huge development in advertising. Passers-by could see coloured
posters, and advertisements in the newspapers and on the Paris publicity
columns. The robot was well adapted to the new needs of advertising. It was
placed in shop-windows and drew customers, inciting them to enter the store.
Then electricity came and radically transformed the world of automatons. Paris
was gradually electrified in the early years of this century. The robot was
fitted with a little motor so that it could work continuously without being
wound up. That was when the big stores conceived the idea of huge animated
scenes. Several dozen robots appeared all at the same time before people's eyes.
The robot became bigger and more imposing. For more than fifty years during the
Christmas and New Year period, it exercised its power of attraction over
children and parents alike.
VI - The Paris Department Stores
"You can find everything at the
Samaritaine�"
In France, for a long time department stores existed only
in Paris. It was Aristide Boucicaut (1810-1877) who first thought of them. For
him, the point was to design a shop selling all sorts of goods, but also to
attract inside a crowd of people who could wander freely about in a little town
within the town. In 1852 Boucicaut opened the first department store - the Bon
March�. The idea spread, and in 1855 Alfred Chauchard opened the Magasin du
Louvre which disappeared in 1974 (it is the only one that has disappeared) and
Ruel opened the Bazar de l'H�tel de Ville, a store, better known today as the
"B.H.V.", that has many branches... a great distance from the Paris H�tel de
Ville (Town Hall). Ten years later, in 1865, Jules Jaluzot (1834-1905) opened
the "Printemps." On March 21st 1870, Ernest Cognacq (1839-1928) and his wife,
Marie Louise Jay (1838-1925) opened the Samaritaine, which when they died was
left in part to the French Academy (the famous Cognacq-Jay Foundation) and in
part to their employees. Other stores appeared : Th�ophile Bader opened the
Galeries Lafayette in 1895, and the Trois Quartiers in 1897. (see the passage in
the correspondence of figure n� 30, G�rard Boitot).
This museum enables you to discover the history of these animated
scenes.
I - Captain Peary
In 1909, Captain Peary was the first person to reach
the North Pole. The far North became all the rage, especially for toys. Gaston
Decamps, the grandson of the founder of the robot factory, conceived the idea of
proposing to the Paris Bon March� department store a reconstitution of this
triumphant arrival at the North Pole. The success of this first animated shop
window was such that in the following years most of the big Paris stores wanted
their own robot windows. It became a tradition that continued every December for
more than sixty years. This typically French fashion spread to the big
provincial towns and to some foreign countries.
II - The Founding of the Decamps Firm
Decamps' was founded in 1865. That
year, Jean Roullet, a constructor of tools for Paris toy manufacturers, took out
a patent for his first model, "a little clockwork gardener." As it was very
modern in conception, and inexpensive, it was soon a great success. It became
the mascot of his firm and adorned his first headed notepaper. Helped by his
daughter and his son-in-law, Ernest Decamps, Jean Roullet increased his number
of models and constructed real robots. His firm grew considerably.
III - Animated Sculpture
At the beginning of the 20th century, his
grandchildren, Gaston and Paul, continued the production. For Gaston the
physical appearance of the robots became the essential point, "the automaton is
an animated sculpture."
IV - Cinema
After the war, the Decamps firm's production specialized in
animated scenes, but also turned to the cinema and its numerous trick effects.
In 1972, Cosette Decamps and her husband, Georges Bellancourt, carried on this
family passion by continuing to turn out new robots. Together with a clockwork
mechanism that became more and more complex, aesthetic research led to the
creation of animated sculptures made of metal. For many years the Decamps firm
carried on its activity at 11 rue Amelot, in the 9th arrondissement of Paris.