“Mephistopheles, Model No. 1” (from the opera Faust) Made by Léopold Lambert, Paris, France c. 1886-1900 39 ½”h x 18”w x 18”d The Murtogh D. Guinness Collection Morris Museum

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This large figure is styled after the devilish character in Charles Gounod’s opera Faust and was marketed by Lambert as “Mephistopheles, Model No. 1.” To a waltz from Faust and the Aida March, “Mephisto” turns and nods his head and blinks his eyes. While his right hand moves as if strumming the music, his lower jaw moves as if he is singing a song (the music is actually provided by a concealed, cylinder musical movement). Lambert exhibited this particular model at the 1900 Universal Exhibition in Paris.

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