Mechanical Cutter for Artificial Flowers

In mid-nineteenth century Paris, the making of artificial flowers was a flourishing business. In a time when mechanization already encompassed, to some degree or another, the production of most manufactured goods, this new device was by no means revolutionary. It replaced both the punch and embossing presses. A skilled worker could cut eight to sixteen items in ten seconds as each stroke of the cutting machine, which lasted two seconds at most, could deliver one hundred.
The caption reads in the original French: Découpoir mécanique pour les fleurs artificielles.