The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1863-04-11
INGENIOUS AUToMATA.


The st. Paul (Minnesota) Daily Press
gives the following description of an ings.
NOUS group of automata. which has beea-
arranged by citizen of that place:
The a. machine" to use q workman's
phrase, consists of frame work table, fl
teen feet long, on which rest six musical
boxes of various ranges-one for each of the
players, who are seated behind the table.
Underneath the frame work is q wooden cyl.
Under, ten feet in length and eighteen inches
in diameter, in which is inserted nesrly 49,
600 wire pins, about an inch long. IN roWA
and groups much like music box cylinder.
This cylinder is revolved by power con-.
structed like a clock movement, operated
with a weight of about 900 pounds. The
steel pegs. as they revolve. strike Get of
levers, of which there are two pairs TO each
player One of these gives perpendiculsr
motion to the arms, thus striking the chords
of the pianos, and the other produces Let.
eral motion, thus causing the arms to move
from chord to chord, as required by the tune
played. All these operations, in each and
all of the figures, must, of course, harmons
ize. so as to avoid discord in the notes. L
viii thus be seen what an immense amount
of labor was required to construct this cylin-
der alone. One was thrown aside after be-
ing entirely finished, causing delay Of
months. The peculiar combinations of pull.
legs, levers, springs and weights that are
in the figures, and give them their life.like
and mysterious movements, it is impossibles
to explain so as to be Ineligible to our
readers. They are intricate and yet simple.
and fully come up to the requirements OF
the case.
We have referred to the instruments on
which they play as pianos. because the mu.
sic they make so much resembles the notes
of the latter. In truth, they are not pianos
though, but a new kind of musical instru-
ment, an invention of Mr.. Kelley, and eas'
for which he has secured protection by let.
ters patent. The chords are wire, and tray.
erse sounding box, producing, when struck
by the figures. full and pleasant notes. They
run from high to low volume, and each
one covers a range Of seven octaves. In mu.
steal parlance. The longest is six feet, and
the largest has nineteen chords, equal to
three octRves of twelve strings. All these
chords are struck while playing, and all in
the right place, making good slime" and
no ''discord." Mr.. Kelly's players eacfr
have range of four and half Ootaves.
The instrument plays a number of tunes.
Competent musicians, who have heard its.
performance. say its music is equal to that
which good piano player would produce
each tune being correct, because there can
be no deviation. George Seibert and Prof.
N. P. Ingalls, have directed and arranged
this department.
Three of the figures are in male costume,
and the other three in beautiful female Co.'S
tune. The heads are marvels of ingenious
workmanship, being of wax, colored to the
life, with movable glass eyes and suitable
wigs. These heads alone cost $500. A
little distance off they would defy detection
from one who did not kRosO they were wax,
instead of flesh and blood. All things be-
ing ready for a tune, the operator starts the
instrument. The players turn and gfance
at the leader, bow to the audience, and then
look down at their pianos. The frst note
struck, they rattle off the tunes in man
ner that makes cne's feet involuntarily dance
time to the notes.