simple pleasures no. 8 - the kissing couple

This simple little automaton has a rather special place in our collection. It was the very first I bought, a gift for my wife.  It came from the magnificent Cabaret Mechanical Theatre in Covent Garden, now sadly closed for many years.

Rotate the handle in a clock-wise direction and a series of small cogs and spindles spin the couple's heads together then apart. A gentle kiss as the couple great each other before they turn to face the operator of the handle, still embraced in each other's arms.

It makes me feel both romantic and slightly voyeuristic at one and the same time, almost as if I am spying on another couple's simple joy in life!

Machinations

I love automata!

I've been collecting them for almost thirty years now, ever since I first visited the legendary Cabaret Mechanical Theatre in Covent Garden. The impact of ridiculously escalating rental values eventually put paid to the museum itself, though happily its owners live on, hosting exhibits across the world as well as operating an online shop. 

It's well worth taking a look at …

The very first piece I bought was  by Peter Markey, an elegant but simple design called 'Kissing Couple'. I bought it for my dear wife, who fortunately shares my obsession with these utterly fascinating animated jokes-in-motion. There are now just short of sixty automata scattered around the House of Electrofried, some small, some large, some complex, some simple … but all with the unfailing ability to raise a smile whenever the handle is turned.

When I was younger I used to love getting up early on a Saturday morning to give mrs electrofried a well-deserved extra few moments in bed.  Accompanied by sundry children we would sneak downstairs to the study, which houses the main part of our collection, and there we would each choose a few pieces to get down from the shelves to play with.  What joys when our eldest grandson comes to visit and I can repeat the self-same journey, albeit that my knees are now somewhat more creaky as I sink slowly to the floor!

So what a delight to discover Machinations, an automata museum just a few miles from the camp-site we're staying at in Wales.  Of course it could never equal the marvels of Cabaret Mechanical Theatre, but for a few brief moments we are absorbed once more in turning handles, wide-eyed and innocent as the children who we are at heart.

Picture us, if you will, at play …...