Tag Archives: henri maillardet

May 5, 2013 · 5:46 am

1820 Clockwork Caterpillar

1820:Mechanical Robot Caterpillar

“Made by Swiss watchmaker Henri Maillardet for sale to aristocratic Chinese buyers. The gold, enamel, jewel and pearl-set automaton mimics the caterpillar’s crawl with a clockwork powered mechanism which drives a pair of gilt-metal knurled wheels. 

“It was titled ‘the Ethiopian caterpillar’ when Maillardet, in partnership with watchmaker Jaquet Droz, organized an exhibition to show off his miniaturised automata in London.”

– Daily Mail

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