A dapper gentleman with composition head, blue glass eyes, leather eyelids, hinged jaw, double row of teeth, reddish mohair wig with sideburns, mohair lashes and moustache, carton torso and legs with sculpted black boots, composition hands with a meerschaum cigarette holder held in thumb and index finger of right hand, is wearing a foppish costume comprising white leather fitted trousers, silk vest with embroidered detail, white cotton shirt with tucks, pearl buttons and bow tie, purple velvet evening coat with tails, black top hat, and gilt-framed fob with faux-jewel, and is posed upon a flat red-velvet covered wooden base. Alongside is a wooden table with gold-leaf finish and hand-painted floral design, upon which is seated a paper mache poodle with fleecy and shaved coat, glass eyes, open mouth with hinged jaw, teeth, pink rosettes. A system of internal rubber tubes in the man and poodle creates the smoking function. Movements: the gentleman leans his head back and lifts cigarette holder to inhale, his mouth opens and closes as though inhaling, and the motion is repeated. Then he turns his head toward the poodle, the poodle turns to him, he offers a drag to the poodle, the poodle opens and closes mouth as though exhaling and his tail wags. Throughout, the man pets the poodle with his left hand, and the man's eyelids blink. The automaton was illustrated in an early catalog of Roullet & Decamps named Fumeur Fin de Siecle et son Chien, No. 294,at the luxury price of 150 FRANCS, exceeding by five times the cost of most other automata by that firm during that era. In the catalog illustration it is noted that the model was "Mod. Depose", i.e. patented. To trouble to patent a model was a rare occurrence for this firm and an indication of its prominence to the maker. Only one other model is known to exist today. By Roullet & Decamps, France, circa 1885. 32" (81 cm) Ten movements. Two tunes.