Joseffy

Joseffy (1873-1946) was born Josef (Joseph) P. Freud in Austria and emigrated to the US in his twenties as a locksmith. He built is own illusions and performed for many years in the Chautauqua circuit. He eventually stopped performing and became an electrical engineer.

One of his mechanical creations was the talking Skull of Balsamo.

Being very secretive about his inventions, it's been stated that he either faked the photographs or showed apparatus that he did not actually use in the tricks to mislead the readers to the genuine secrets provided in his book The Marvelous Creations of Joseffy by David P. Abbott in 1908.

References

http://www.miraclefactory.net/mpt/view.php?id=109&type=articles