Musée de l'automate, Automaton museum in Souillac, France.
The museum housed about 300 mechanical figures and toys from the late 19th to late 20th century, including Victorian dolls, animals, and Parisian scenes. The pieces came primarily from the renowned Roullet-Decamps manufacturer and demonstrated the craftsmanship of automated toys.
The museum opened in 1988 and housed the national collection of automata and mechanical toys until its closure in 2022. Its holdings documented over a century of French mechanical toy manufacturing.
The collection features mechanical jazz musicians from 1920 that were originally created for department store window displays, reflecting Souillac's connection to its annual jazz festival.
The location is easily reached on foot once you arrive in Souillac's town center. It is important to note that the institution is currently closed and cannot be visited.
The Little Gardener was the first French mechanical toy to be manufactured on a large scale and earned a bronze medal at the 1867 Universal Exhibition. This early recognition made it a milestone in the history of automated toy production.
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