John Joseph Merlin created automata, musical instruments, clocks, and one of the first pairs of roller skates. His roller skate debut was pretty tragic (and hilarious).
A.C. Gilbert was a magician turned toymaker who created some important and lasting toys, and also some incredibly dangerous ones.
Episode Notes and Links
Scott Allsop was the voice of the “eyewitness account” of Merlin’s big crash. Check out Scott’s podcast History Pod (a daily release with “On This Day” shorts. Also check out www.MrAllsopHistory.com
Mr Eric of What If World reads the “Lego Letter”
Scott Moore of Open String Recordings arranged, performed, and recorded the orchestral music in the Merlin Story.
Here’s his note on that piece: The “orchestra” music is a rearranged bit of the first movement of the Sonata No. 2 for Harpsichord or Pianoforte with an Accompaniment for the Violin or German Flute, Opus 16, by Johann Christian Bach. It was published ca. 1779; peep the first edition here. It seems he was no stranger to Carlisle House, being among the set of prominent musicians engaged by Teresa Cornelys—Casanova’s girlfriend. So even though this piece was probably written a few years after the heyday of the Carlisle House, I like to imagine that JC Bach might have been on the bandstand the night Merlin had his “skate with destiny.”
Also the episode featured a public domain recording of The Swan, from Carnival of the Animals by Saint Saens.
Check out our sponsor Candlewick Press and their release Zora and Me: The Summoner.
Also, if you’d like to watch a video of the Swan Automaton, check this out!
Leave a Reply