Fortune Telling

"L'Oracle du Mort" (ORACLE OF THE DEAD MAN) The Fortune Telling Magician depicting an 1800's magician from the French occult revival. This automaton was made from scratch by Thomas Kuntz. It has a very complex mechanical system consisting of hand cut cams gears levers springs, sprockets and pulleys. Such automata involve great precision and many months of intense work after a preparation time that can often be years. It requires skill sets in all disciplines including sculpture, painting, mold making, machining, engineering fabric work and cabinetry. The case is made of solid oak. It tells 7 fortunes and if one attempts to fool the magician a cheeky devil appears in the window...

Video edit and costumes by Blake Bolger.
The the cam cutting machine shown briefly is a specially made "shop designed' device for individual cam duplication. The sketch shows how it came to be....
edition of 3 sold out.