An account of the mechanism of an automaton, or image playing on the German-flute: as it was presented in a memoire, to the gentlemen of the Royal-Academy of Sciences at Paris ... By M.V., inventor ... of the ... machine. Together with a description of an artificial duck, eating, drinking, macerating the food, and voiding excrements; pluming her wings, picking her feathers, and performing several operations in imitation of a living duck ... as also that of another image, no less wonderful than the first, playing on the tabor and pipe ... / Translated out of the French original, by J.T. Desaguliers.

  • Vaucanson, Jacques de, 1709-1782
Date:
1742
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An account of the mechanism of an automaton, or image playing on the German-flute: as it was presented in a memoire, to the gentlemen of the Royal-Academy of Sciences at Paris ... By M.V., inventor ... of the ... machine. Together with a description of an artificial duck, eating, drinking, macerating the food, and voiding excrements; pluming her wings, picking her feathers, and performing several operations in imitation of a living duck ... as also that of another image, no less wonderful than the first, playing on the tabor and pipe ... / Translated out of the French original, by J.T. Desaguliers. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    high again, which will be the Oftave. But as a Part of thole Vibrations is always communicated to the other half of the Body of the Flute, the Wind mu ft be forc’d a little, to produce in thofe Vibrations Accelerations, which by the Increafe of their Motion will fupply the Want of thofe that are loft in the other half of the Flute ; then you will have a full Oétave. That Note is alio produc’d by flopping all the Holes of the Flute, as in that of the firft Cdlave : But then you mu ft double the Force of the Wind, to produce double Vibrations in the whole Body of the Flute, which amounts to the fame Thing. This is what is pradtifed in the Tones of the fécond Odtave, where the Pofition of the Fingers and Cu¬ pelling of the Holes is the fame as in the Firft. You muft blow with a double Force to produce double the Number of Vibrations in the fame Time ; which makes the fécond Oétave : Becaufe the more or lefs acute Sound confifts in the greater or lefs Number of Vibrations in the fame Time. Again, the Wind muft be given with a triple Force to produce the third Odtave ; but Vibrations, fo fud- denly redoubled, not finding fufficient Iffue in the firft Fiole to hinder their going on in the reft of the Body of the Flute, becaufe of their extreme Swiftnefs, we muft be forced to open feveral Holes in the lower Part of the Flute ; thus the Pipe being more open, the Vibrations will have a greater Iflue and a full and open Sound will be form’d, without being oblig’d to give the Wind quite a triple Force. By this changing of Openings, different from what is required in natural Sounds^ an Iffue may be given foon- er or later, and greater or lefs, to produce Semi-Tones; which muft alfo be done in the laft high Sounds, where a quicker and greater Iffue muft be given, that the Vibrations