Rare "Buffalo Bill" Smoking Automaton by Gustave Vichy, c. 1890

With papier-mâché head, angular profile, articulated mouth and eyelids, gloved hands with metal tube for a cigarette-holder (right) and the muzzle of a gun (left), torso containing going-barrel motor and bellows for smoking action, dressed in original wool suit with large brass and cut-steel buttons, beaded trim and tasseled edges, leather riding boots, red silk sash and broad-brimmed felt hat, on velvet-covered base with plaque engraved: "Guiton, Bté. S.G.D.G., 13, 15, 17 Passage Jouffroy, Paris", height 28 in. (71 cm) excluding hat, with "acorn" stop/start. Condition: mechanism unexamined and untested, key sheared off on winding shaft, missing cigarette-holder and gunstock, surface of face and boots lifting. – Note: A rare example of an automaton depicting a named person, Buffalo Bill was a "modèle déposé" in the Vichy catalog. It commemorates William F. Cody, cattle-herder, gold prospector and soldier of the Fifth and the Seventh Kansas Cavalry during the American Civil War. It was his prowess hunting buffalo to feed the crews of the Pacific Railroad that earned Cody his title. In 1882 Cody began touring "Buffalo Bill's Wild West", often featuring other famous acts, including Annie Oakley and Frank Butler. Performances in England for Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1887 and at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1889 ensured that Buffalo Bill remained a celebrated household name on both sides of the Atlantic long after his death in 1917. – Surviving examples of the automaton are rare. This piece is offered in original unrestored condition, with the majority of the costume and the decorative elements, including the flocked felt gloves, tasseled trim and the distinctive riding boots, still intact. The retailer’s plaque is another unusual feature. Guiton was the successor to Jules Albert Monier of "Aux Enfants Sage" which sold dolls and toys during the second half of the 19th century. – References: Auction Team Breker, Lot 728, 26 May 2012, for a similar piece; Bailly, "Automata, the Golden Age", p. 107.

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)