It seems almost a miracle how the Autoymata miniatures of Laurence and
Angela St.Leger function in a keenly speedy manner. And not that alone;
they are also irresistibly funny and amaze by being made with great
ingenuity.
Laurence and Angela were giants in the world of miniatures, delighting people with their amazing miniatures and miniature automatons for over 40 years. Now Laurence has passed away at the end of November 2022 and with that this amazing era has come to an end. I am leaving this page online in memory.
Laurence and Angela St.Leger started
off by making miniatures for dolls houses. 25 years ago they made their
first toy: 'samson the strong man'. Every year 5 or 6 new models get
added. Up to now they habe about 150 different models in their programme
and on top of that a number of other commissions. In actual fact they
can make a toy for any given subject. As Angela says 'Ideas just come to
us - a bit silly really'.
These tiny objects are hardly bigger than
one inch. They all have different ways of motion, some move by the aid
of a tiny crank handle, for others one needs to push a little stick.
They are made of tin and of little bits of pins or matchsticks,
beautifully lacquered and surprisingly robust.
The idea to make these
movable miniatures came to Laurence and Angela St. Leger when they
realised that they would fit perfectly into the dolls houses which they
were anyhow already constructing. But they qualify as the perfect
response to very personal preferences, ideas, hobbies and professions.
Hence they lend themselves to brilliant little presents for friends and
acquaintances. Everyone will be delighted and amazed by them.
