Isis is most likely owned by John Gaughan of Los Angeles.  He bought the
automaton for $33,000 in a 1986 auction.  It had been owned by Harrah
in Las Vegas, probably in a museum called Poney Express Museum.  Bill
Martin, a gun collector, bought out the entire museum to obtain some
rare guns.  The unwanted items went to Butterfield's auction in 1986.
Gaughan's bid of $33,000 took the item.

Dr. Cecil Nixon, the creator, was a man-about-town during the earlier
part of the century.  He had a pipe organ in his large old Victorian
home in San Francisco.  He entertained widely -- including such
notables as Paderewski, Arthur Conan Doyle, Houdini.  Nixon never
married; he wired his house for lots of special effects, doors which
opened on command, singing birds, and who knows what else.  Go figure!

This comes from a booklet "Isis and Beyond, The Biography of Cecil E.
Nixon" by Doran Wittelsbach ISBN 0-9661308-0-4, Library of Congress
Card No 97-77498.  66 pages, quite a few pictures.  Printed by B U A
Productions 1701 Broadway #347, Vancouver, WA 98663 USA.  I found the
book fun and hope someone will write a short review for the AMICA
bulletin.

Bill Chapman - AMICA Membership Secretary
(707) 570-2258
2150 Hastings Ct
Santa Rosa, CA 95405