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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    this Difference from other Wind-Inftrumen ts, that its Mouth is undetermined, the Advantages that arife from it, are that the Wind may be modulated by the great¬ er or lefs Opening of the Lips, and by their different Pofition upon the Hole of the Flute, and by the Per¬ former’s being able to turn the Flute inwards or outwards. By this Means the Sounds may be fwell’d and diminifh’d, foften’d, and ftrengthen’d, produce Echoes, and give Grace and Expreffion to the Tunes that are play'd ; which Advantages are not to be found in thofe Inftruments whofe Mouth is determin'd : which I fhall fhew in ex¬ plaining the Mechanifm of the different Operations per¬ form’d on the German-Flute Sound confiding in the Vibrations of the Air pro¬ duced by its Entrance into the Flute, and its Return upon that which fucceeds it; if, by a particular Pofition of theLips, it enters into the whole Bignefs of the Hole of the Flute, that is, goes thro' the longeffc Chord of the Hole, or the true Diameter of it, (which is done by turning the Flute out* wards) then it flrikes a greater Number of the Particles of the Wood, and at its Return finding an Iffue equally large, it communicates with a greater Quantity of ex¬ ternal Air; and this produces the louder Sounds. But when the Flute is turn’d inwards, the Lips cover more than half the Hole, the Wind going in thro' a fmaller Opening, and being able to return only thro’ the fame, in order to communicate with the external Air, it can ftrike only a lefs Quantity of it, which makes the Sound foft. Thefe two Differences may have fever- al Degrees, which depend upon placing the Lips over a greater or lefs Chord of the Hole of the Flute, by turn¬ ing it more inwards or outwards* Therefore