A bisque-faced black man with highly characterized features including wide beaming smile on handsome visage has ebony black complexion, glass inset eyes and black fleeced hair. He stands upon a velvet-covered base, wearing luxurious and well-detailed silk costume, and holding a cigarette holder in his right hand and a flower in his left hand. The automaton appeared in the Lambert catalog as Negre Fumeur,No.30 described as having a character face and wearing a rich costume of silk and satin. The bisque character face, made uniquely for this model, was created by Jumeau. The smoking automaton figure was popular with all of the late 19th century automata makers. Lambert, for example, featured eight variations in his catalog; Roullet & Decamps offered eight. The smoking automaton, generally costumed as a marquis or a black man (certainly, never a woman) was so popular that the toy historian Leo Claretie devoted several pages to the subject in his 1900 book Les Jouets, extolling the ingenious smoking mechanism, but lamenting the poor hygiene and social habits that were thus encouraged! Circa 1890. 26" (66 cm). Five movements. Two tunes. Key signed L.B. Exhibitions: Bagatelle,Paris,1993; Hospice Saint-Charles,Liege,1994.