$4,113
Rare Hoyt Life Picture of the Gibson Girl, the lithographed card portrait with articulated head, eyes, eyelids and upper lip, in stained wood frame containing open-spring mechanism causing the lady gently to tilt her head, seductively lower her eyelids, look from side to side, and purse her lips or smile, a label on reverse with directions and text Hoyt Life Picture . Label reads: "This is intended to be hung on a wall like an ordinary framed picture, preferably where the light will strike it straight in front. Pictures should be kept always wound up and "shut off", so that when it is desired to set picture in motion, it is ready. By turning on the movement unobserved the visitor is surprised and mystified. It is desirable that the person looking at the picture to be kept as far from it as possible, so as not to discover the method by which the face changes", 22 x 27 in. framed. Note: Advertised as a "unique window attraction" capable of running for over five hours on one winding, these early mechanical pictures undoubtedly also found their way into casinos and saloons. Albert Pick & Co. advertised four mechanical pictures in their 1910 catalogue, priced at $1.95 each: An American Beauty, the Automobilist, Bull Dog, and Watermelon Sam. Although similar to the American Beauty, this portrait was most likely inspired by the drawings of idealized modern women published in 1896 by Charles Dana Gibson in Pictures of People .
Auctioneer:
Skinner
Date:
2007-10-28
