Rare Clown with Broom Automaton by Leopold Lambert, c. 1890

With lightly arched back, papier-mâché head, articulated eyelids and darting tongue, his forehead, cheeks and chin painted with card suits, holding a stringed broom and a bow, on velvet-covered base containing going-barrel motor with four cams, five levers and two-tune cylinder musical movement, in theatrical mohair wig and two-toned satin costume with painted musical score on the chest and note appliques on the right leg, ht. 24 in. (61 cm) to tip of hair, with brass "LB" key and Lambert stop/start lever, working, surface of face and hands restored, head turn sticking, tongue movement inactive. - Note: Clowns playing instruments made from unusual and impractical objects like dominoes, bed-warmers and frying pans were a popular subject amongst 19th century automata makers. Here a clown plays a four-stringed broom as though it were a double bass. He turns and inclines his head, blinks and sticks his tongue out at the audience as he bows the instrument with two movements of his right hand and strokes the strings with his left. - Listed in the Lambert catalog as "Clown Musicien", we know of only a handful examples of this piece. The model offered here has been sympathetically restored by David Secrett and Margaret Glover. - Literature: Christian Bailly, "Automata, the Golden Age", pp. 190, 350.

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)