fantoccini

He has put me right, however, by informing me, that he writes himself artist from Vauxhall, and that he exhibits fantoccini; call them what you will, it seems they gave great delight to the unwashed artificers of G——.

The fantoccini did credit to their machinist, who was skilful at pulling of wires.

Fantoccini, fan-to-chē′nē, n.pl. puppets worked by machinery: dramatic performances by puppets.

Some scenes, written under the high pressure of dramatic œstrum, stir tears by their poignancy, by the accents of grief and anguish on the lips of fantoccini.

In its original prospectus its political creed was outlined as follows: "Punch has no party prejudices; he is conservative in his opposition to Fantoccini and political puppets, but a progressive whig in his love of small change and a repeal of the union with public Judies."