pages: unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf, 114
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unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 114 | THE WRITING AND DRAWING FIGURE stance, to write a T, the writer begins tracing the letter at the top, and after slightly lifting his hand half- way, swiftly traces the transversal dash, and continues writing the original ground stroke. "How complicated a mechanism is required for insur- ing these effects will be inferred from the illustration, in which the automaton is shown with its back opened. In the first place a vertical disk will be noticed having at its circumference as many notches as there are letters and signs. Behind this will be seen whole columns of cam-wheels, each of a special shape, placed one above another, and all together forming a sort of spinal column for the automaton. "Whenever the little writer is to write a given letter, a pawl is introduced into the corresponding notch of the disk, thus lifting the wheel column and transmitting to the hand, by the aid of a complicated lever system and Cardan joints arranged in the elbow, the requisite movements for tracing the letter in question. The mechanism comprises five centres of motion connected together by chains. "In the 'Draftsman,' the mechanism is likewise ar- ranged in the body itself, as in the case of the 'Writer.' The broad chest thus entailed also required a large head, which accounts for the somewhat bulky appearance of the two automatons. With the paper in position and a pencil in hand, the 'Draftsman' at first traces a few dashes and then swiftly marks the shadows, and a dog appears on the paper. The little artist knowingly ex- amines his work, and after blowing away the dust and putting in a few last touches, stops a moment and then quickly signs, 'Mon Toutou' (My pet dog). The motions 7 [ 97 ] |