A rare composition musical automaton figure, attributed to Gustave Vichy, Paris, circa 1900 , modelled as an African American banjo player wearing a red cap and shirt, blue coat and striped pantaloons seated on an oversized gilt stool upholstered in red velvet with tassel border over conforming green and gold velvet pendant panels enclosing the musical and automaton drive mechanisms, once activated (via a brass pull button to the rear of the stool) the figure strums the banjo with his right hand whilst rotating and nodding his head, blinking his glass eyes and swinging his right leg, (restored), 61cm (24ins) high. Gustave Vichy was the son of Parisian watch and clockmaker Antoine Vichy who established a workshop making clocks, mechanical objects and toys in 1862. Unfortunately shortly after the founding of the business Antoine died leaving the firm in the hands of his widow Genevieve. By 1865 the business had become bankrupt and was wound up only to be re-established in by their son, Gustave, this time specialising in automata. Gustave Vichy was well placed to respond to the Parisian fashion for automata and mecahnical items of a 'mysterious' nature which reached its height during the latter years of the 19th century. The Vichy workshop became leaders in the field and were particularly well known for the realism and inventive nature of their figures. In 1893 Gustave handed the day to day direction of the firm over to his son, Henry, who introduced further innovations such as the Lioret gramophone which for the first time enabled the figures to speak. In 1904 Gustave Vichy died leaving the business to be passed on to his former factory foreman Auguste Triboulet who continued in the Vichy tradition until his death in 1920 when the firm was sold to the French toy manufacturers J.A.F. The current lot can be attributed to Gustave Vichy on the basis that the design appears in his 1900 catalogue captioned Petit negre jouant du banjo.