Uploaded January 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
A true marvel of artistry and ingenuity is presented by Artimo Fine Arts at BRAFA 2025: the Magician Book, an unparalleled automaton and a masterpiece of mechanical precision and storytelling.
This extraordinary creation is the only known automaton in the form of a book with a question-and-answer mechanism. The book comes in its original leather cover and is accompanied by the original instructions. When activated, the book reveals a magician standing on a terrace with a breathtaking view of Lake Geneva and Mont Blanc.
This automaton, a prized possession of Dr Maurice Sandoz (1892-1958), was described as the most amazing in his famous collection and as his personal favourite. Sandoz used it as a guest book for his villa in Burier, Switzerland, where such luminaries as Anna von Bismarck, Prince and Princess Frederick of Prussia, Clémentine of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and Charlie Chaplin left their impressions.
The Magician Book was publicly exhibited only once during Sandoz's lifetime, at La Vieille Russie in New York in 1950.
Visit BRAFA 2025 to witness this remarkable piece of history - a testament to the intersection of art, technology and storytelling.
📅 26 January – 2 February 2025
📍 Brussels Expo / Heysel
🎟️ Find further information and tickets at brafa.art
BRAFA Principal Sponsor: Delen Private Bank
Featured object:
Magician question-and-answer automaton “album amicorum” book with original leather case and instructions for use.
Signed Meussel et Fils, Geneva, March 1823.
Gold, enamel and tortoiseshell, H 20 x W 15 cm
(unique piece)
Video by Eye-See
A true marvel of artistry and ingenuity is presented by Artimo Fine Arts at BRAFA 2025: the Magician Book, an unparalleled automaton and a masterpiece of mechanical precision and storytelling.
This extraordinary creation is the only known automaton in the form of a book with a question-and-answer mechanism. The book comes in its original leather cover and is accompanied by the original instructions. When activated, the book reveals a magician standing on a terrace with a breathtaking view of Lake Geneva and Mont Blanc.
This automaton, a prized possession of Dr Maurice Sandoz (1892-1958), was described as the most amazing in his famous collection and as his personal favourite. Sandoz used it as a guest book for his villa in Burier, Switzerland, where such luminaries as Anna von Bismarck, Prince and Princess Frederick of Prussia, Clémentine of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and Charlie Chaplin left their impressions.
The Magician Book was publicly exhibited only once during Sandoz's lifetime, at La Vieille Russie in New York in 1950.
Visit BRAFA 2025 to witness this remarkable piece of history - a testament to the intersection of art, technology and storytelling.
📅 26 January – 2 February 2025
📍 Brussels Expo / Heysel
🎟️ Find further information and tickets at brafa.art
BRAFA Principal Sponsor: Delen Private Bank
Featured object:
Magician question-and-answer automaton “album amicorum” book with original leather case and instructions for use.
Signed Meussel et Fils, Geneva, March 1823.
Gold, enamel and tortoiseshell, H 20 x W 15 cm
(unique piece)
Video by Eye-See
