Messstrolch is a Voltmeter built 1945 by Hartmann & Braun in Frankfurt using parts that were left in the workshop after the Second World War. 

This did not meet Hartmann & Braun's high quality standards, so these measuring devices were labelled ‘Strolch’ = rascal and ‘Mess’ = measuring device, resulting in “Messstrolch”.

The old handwriting 'ausgemustert' means decommissioned.

Parts of a 1950s Cellba doll and special Neon glow bulbs are a perfect match.

The celestial and devilish elements are enhanced by blood, for which I used red liquid latex. I put stick-on tattoos on the doll. A cross tattoo on the upper arm (the visible symbol) and the word 'bad' and a safety pin on the thigh (the hidden symbol).

'Messstrolch' has thus been given a second level of meaning. ‘Mess’ here also stands for the mass or service in the church or also for altar servers, for example. 

The combination with Strolch is intended to allude to the negative aspects of the churches, which have a hand in many unpleasant things and therefore have blood on their hands.

Materials: 

• Cellba doll from the 1950s 
• old measuring device 'Messstrolch' from 1945 by Hartmann & Braun
• Neon glow lamps with cross-shaped electrodes
• white LEDs to illuminate the doll`s glass eyes
• amber LEDs to illuminate the gauge
• stick-on tattoos
• red latex color
• power transformer
• textile power cord and Bakelite plug

Additional information 

• Cellba was a German doll factory that was the second largest in Germany before the Second World War. The company was founded in 1924 under the name ‘Celluloidwarenfabrik Babenhausen Schöberl & Becker’. In 1966, the company was taken over by Mattel, the manufacturer of Barbie dolls. 
• Hartmann & Braun was a German measurement and control technology company founded in Würzburg in 1879. The company later expanded and became a leading supplier of measurement and control technology in Germany and Europe. After 1999, Hartmann & Braun was completely taken over by ABB.
• A neon glow lamp is a gas-discharge lamp. The lamp typically contains a mixture of neon and other gases at a low pressure and two electrodes (an anode and a cathode). When sufficient voltage is applied between the electrodes, the lamp produces an orange glow discharge.