Telephony switches - is there anyone out there collecting these?

[Chuck Guzis]

The first "computer" that I got to see up close (rather than at a 
distance as in "that's our computer over there") was a tic-tac-toe 
machine that employed Stroger switches.  It was mechanical enough to 
be fun to watch.

Wasn't there a turn-of-the-century electromechanical gizmo built by a 
Frenchman to solve the three queens problem?  I seem to recall that 
when it won, it played a phonograph recording of "échec et mat".

Can someone refresh my hazy memory?  Would that qualify as a 
"computer"?

Cheers,
Chuck