We are amused: after-dinner entertainment of the Victorian era
Automata, clockwork models that could perform for guests at the wind of a key, were the after-dinner entertainment of the Victorian era....
A late Victorian papier-mâché model of a Boston terrier, complete with working growler, attracted strong bidding at Sworders’ bi-weekly Homes & Interiors auction on Tuesday 16 October. Probably made by the French toy manufacturing company Roullet & Decamps, well known for their automata and walking and moving dolls and toys, the mechanical terrier was consigned to sale by a seller local to Sworders' Stansted Moutfitchet auction room. It sold for £1,353 including premium.
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