Conrad William Cooke was an engineer and member of the Sette of Odd Volumes. He attended Manning's lecture on Robert-Houdin and was fascinated by the magician's use of automata.

". . . I began to make a few notes upon Automata, with which subject the name of Robert-Houdin must for ever be associated; I soon found, however, that the subject was so comprehensive and went back into such remote periods of antiquity, that to do it even the most scanty justice would require a paper devoted to itself alone. . . "

Cooke proceeded to write a small survey of automata as they were made back in ancient times and down to his own period. This small treatise covers the high points in the history of automata and even includes mention of Edison's doll with a small record player stuck in the back. Cooke's talk was a survey not a 'how to' but it does serve to whet our appetite and point out the highlights of automata over the last two millennia.