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Originally constructed in 1769 by Wolfgang von Kempelen, the Turk made first USA appearance by Johann Nepomuk Maelzel on April 13, 1826. Both Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died July 4, 1826, the fiftieth anniversary of starting USA Revolution. In 1783 Ben Franklin had played the Turk at Paris. Charles Carroll, age 89, the last surviving signatory of Declaration of Independence, played the Turk May 23, 1827. ''Dr. Gamaliel Bradford outlined Racknitz's theory that a hidden dwarf or small child operated the machine, but rejected the idea of magnets under the chessboard in favor of the transparent chessboard favored by Decremps. ...the possibility that the automaton was entirely controlled by Maelzel using magnets hidden in his pockets.'' -- Tom Standage 'The Turk' 2002. '' '...A common camera obscura apparatus, of which the lens is in one of the eyes of the Automaton, the mirror being situated within the head, at such an angle as to reflect the rays of light toward a plate of ground glass placed in the back of the box, and near the occupant.' '' --Bradford in Standage. Promotional poster for 1834 show at Philadelphia: ''The automaton trumpeter, followed by the Mechanical Theater, the slack-rope dancers, the Grand Tournament, the diorama of Rheims Cathedral, musical automaton the Melodium, and the Turk as the grand finale.'' Meeting the Turk and Maelzel as young man in Boston, ''P.T. Barnum recalled that Maelzel gave him piece of advice, 'I see that you understand the value of the press, that is the great thing,' Maelzel told Barnum.'' Twenty-six-year-old Edgar Allen Poe living in Richmond, Virginia, saw the Turk play frequently from December 1835 -- inspiring Poe's essay 'Maelzel's Chess-Player' in April 1836 'Messenger'. ''He presented his conclusions in a format that prefigured his later mystery and detective stories. Poe explicitly compared the Turk to Babbage's calculating engines.'' --Tom Standage 'The Turk' 2002