January 30th & 31st 2016 Premier Coin-Op Sale & Advertising
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 1/29/2016
Perhaps one of the most visually eye catching as well as appealing automata' made at various firms during the late 19th/early 20th century! Ingenious in nature, when the mechanism is activated this fellow looks about blinking his eyes while keeping the ball atop of the moving fan, maintains the balance of the plate on top of the umbrella which is also in motion, all while the casual observer listens to a musical tune. Quite obviously these items were most expensive during the time period and the more movements/complexity of the piece, the more the cost of said piece. One really should not consider this a child's toy but rather for the entertainment of adults in the parlor after dinner or possibly in a retail establishment used to garner the attention of prospective customers. Massive in size compared to the typical simplistic automatons that one usually sees at shows, auctions and/or collections this is truly an amazing piece! It appears to have had expert total restoration, possibly re-creation utilizing vintage pieces sometime in the last twenty to thirty years. Due to the pieces complexity, restoration is not an easy job: appropriate fabric for clothing must be found, restoration to the paper mâché head including replacement of the fine leather above the eyes(giving the blinking eye effect), balancing and maintaining the multiple movements, etc. Whatever the case might be, it is an amazing piece that surely virtually anyone laying their eyes upon him would be enthralled and desirous of adding to their collection. Overall in operational condition but as is the case with all mechanical objects they should be played to maintain movements otherwise they can become slightly sluggish. Included with this piece are a number of vintage French postcards featuring a very similar figure.
Condition: (Very Good).
Item Dimensions: 41" T.