The Bonhams auction house in London recently sold this grisly coin-operated amusement dating from the 1920s and attributed to Charles Ahrens, a noted creator of such automata.
It's called the "English Execution." If it looks familiar, that may be because you watched "The Wench Is Dead," a 1998 episode of Inspector Morse. This automaton appears in the opening scene.
Insert a coin and the machine sounds a bell. The condemned prisoner, who is receiving his last rites, is hanged.
If you'd like to own this treasure of refined taste, you'll have to wait until it's on the market again. Some prudent soul secured it from the auction for the equivalent of $22,611 USD.
-via Messy Nessy Chic
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I believe that San Francisco's Musée Mechanique has one of these. The place is well worth a visit!
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