The Mechanical Turk, illustration in Joseph Friedrich von Racknitz's pamphlet On Mr. von Kempelen's Chess Player and its Replica, 1789.
This drawing depicts how von Racknitz believed the so-called Mechanical Turk, a supposed chess-playing automaton developed by Wolfgang von Kempelen, to actually function, housing a human operator within.
Humboldt University Library, Berlin.
License & Copyright
Based on Wikipedia content that has been reviewed, edited, and republished.Original image by Joseph Friedrich von Racknitz. Uploaded by Howard Burton, published on 11 September 2025. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: Public Domain. This item is in the public domain, and can be used, copied, and modified without any restrictions. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.
Related Images
Chess Computer, 1979
Knight Chess Piece
Christian & Muslim Playing Chess
The Game of Chess
Medieval Chess Game
Lewis Knight Chess-piece
Cite This Work
APA Style
Racknitz, J. F. v. (2025, September 11). The Mechanical Turk. World History Encyclopedia. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/20947/the-mechanical-turk/
Chicago Style
Racknitz, Joseph Friedrich von. "The Mechanical Turk." World History Encyclopedia, September 11, 2025. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/20947/the-mechanical-turk/.
MLA Style
Racknitz, Joseph Friedrich von. "The Mechanical Turk." World History Encyclopedia, 11 Sep 2025, https://www.worldhistory.org/image/20947/the-mechanical-turk/.
