"Girl on Telephone" Musical Automaton by Louis Renou, c. 1895

With bisque head incised "E 1 D" for Jumeau under Emile Douillet, closed mouth, fixed threaded blue paperweight eyes, pierced ears, abundant chestnut-brown mohair wig and original vibrant red satin costume trimmed with sequins, crepe and ribbons, standing before a model telephone upon a turned pedestal, a metal ring-form receiver in her right hand, on velvet-covered base with going-barrel motor and single-air cylinder movement, ht. 17 ½ in. (44 cm) including hat, near-mint original working condition. With crescent-form brass Renou key. - Literature: Christel Jörges/Helmut Gold, "Telefone 1863 bis heute", p. 44, for illustration of a telephone of the period. Telephone for illustration only. - Modern technology was a favorite motif for Louis Renou, a third-generation Parisian toy-maker with a playful sense of humor: telephones, street thermometers and the latest in cameras and curling tongs are all at home in Renou's mechanical universe. - Here he depicts a French table-top telephone of the early 1890s. In the full-sized version, the sloping top would have housed a graphite membrane that acted as microphone while the ring-form receiver was used for listening. - Raising the receiver to her ear and lowering her head discretely, the girl is shocked when the lid of the telephone springs open to reveal a green-faced imp listening to her conversation. Her left hand flies to her face as she covers her eyes in shock. She lowers her hand once but the imp is still there. Only after he has retreated back into the box can she uncover her eyes and continue her conversation. - A rare and amusing automaton with a technological theme.

布雷克拍品等级是为了方便竞买人判断拍卖品的成色而设置的。布雷克等级用1到6级来标注外观和功能的成色，(从非常好到非常差)。 在目录图册里用括号里的2个数字来表示，前一个数字表示外观成色的级别，后一个数字表示功能成色的级别。如(3/2)表示外观成色是3(满意的)，功能成色2(好)。 成色 定义参照下列标准： 1 - 非常好 (未使用过，没有使用痕迹) 2 - 好 (新，极少的使用痕迹) 3 - 满意的 (普通的使用痕迹) 4 - 及格的 (明显的使用痕迹，某个非主要部件是后配的) 5 - 有缺陷的 (极明显的使用痕迹, 某个主要部件是后配的，功能上有缺陷，需要修理) 6 - 非常差 (严重破损, 缺少重要部件)