Standing upon a wooden base is a highly characterized man with gentle expression and sweet smile, having a composition head, glass eyes with leather eyelids, mohair lashes and wig, painted clown lines on face, composition torso posed with one hand in pocket, very big oversized feet attached to the platform, and wearing a green woolen suit, yellow silk over-sized foulard, and vest, and carrying a brown derby in his right hand. Movement: he stands pausing as though waiting for attention so he can begin his performance, then alternately taps his large feet, alternately blinks eyelids, bends far forward while simultaneously lifting right arm, slowly raises himself while drawing his hat back to his body, and finally stands open-hatted, satisfied with his performance. The distinctive leaning-forward figure with over- sized shoes represents the English stage performer Henry Relph known as Little Tich. The highly characterized automaton face, unique to this model, was based upon photographs of the performer, as were the motions of the automaton. A little man, Relph wore flat shoes that were half as long as he was tall, and upon these,it was noted in reviews, he would dance, lean forward to pick up his hat, then rise and bow, extending his hat. After first wowing audience in England and the United States he debuted in Paris in 1896,becoming a close friend of Toulouse-Lautrec and the Montmartre society from which the inspiration for many automaton figures of the time was drawn. There is no record whether the Little Tich automaton was officially licensed by Roullet & Decamps although it is unlikely. In the 1908 Rapports de l'Exposition Franco- Britannique de Londres the juror Serre Telmon wrote of the Little Tich automaton that "its elegance is equaled by its ingenuity" Little Tich accompanies his dancing, his gestures and his legendary poses with blinking of his eyes." Few examples are known to exist. Roullet & Decamps, France. Circa 1910. 30" (76 cm). Six movements. One tune.