Description: In this listing we are offering a marvelous & fascinating & unusual clockwork toy/automaton smiling monkey. We are estimating that this toy, which was made in France, was produced circa 1890's-1920's. The toy has a hand painted compo head & hand painted compo central body. The body is covered in simulated fur with a cloth backing The legs & the tail have a metal wire structure inside. The arms, which are made of simulated fur with a cloth backing, are soft & flexible & the hands are made of felt. One of the hands is stamped on the back "France" in block letters. We have not been able to locate a specific maker's marking on this toy. In a seated position the monkey measures between 5 3/4 inches to 6 1/8 inches depending on one of two positions chosen to pose the legs in. The length from the front of feet to the back of tail with the arms down between the monkey’s legs is 5 inches. With the arms manually held up the length from the front of the hands to the back of the tail is 6 3/8 inches. The front of the face & the ears & the front central section of the torso, as made, was not covered with simulated fur. The rest of the monkey is covered in the all original simulated fur with a cloth backing. The weight of the toy is 3.2 ounces. There is one tiny glass eye missing. The monkey has some minor insignificant loss to the simulated fur covering but the condition is generally excellent. One little area on the side of the monkey's chin & another at the bottom of stomach should have a tiny bit of glue applied to firm up the covering which is partly loose. We will leave that option up to the buyer. There is a tiny, extremely minor, area of shine around the monkeys mouth & jaw where a few specks of glue were used by some former owner to get the fur to be stable. But, it needs a tad more glue. Otherwise the all original paint on the face is excellent. The ears have a few tiny chips off of the compo. The paint on the stomach is all original. There is some wear on the stomach on the compo around the key from being wound. There are no breaks, no repairs, & no paint touch ups. The toy is complete & all original. The clockwork mechanism has the original key attached to the stomach (as made). The clockwork in the stomach was over wound when we found the toy. But, with careful gentle movement of the legs back & forth by hand we have eliminated the issue of it being over wound. Currently it is possible to gently clockwise wind the toy a few clicks. But, the clockwork will not function on its own & requires the manual movement of the legs to function. The function when wound, if working properly (which it currently is not), would be for the monkey from a seated position to go up & down from being shorter to being taller. Quite a fascinating, unusual, & rare toy. In our 58+ years of being interested in antique toys we do not recall ever seeing another example of this toy. A recent find fresh out of a Berks County, Pennsylvania estate. Please examine the photos closely and purchase based on your own judgement as to condition and value. This item is inventory #11,626. Shipping is free only to addresses within the United States and available only to addresses within the United States.
Price: 250 USD
Location: Lampeter, Pennsylvania
End Time: 2024-10-11T20:09:28.000Z
Shipping Cost: 0 USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Year: 1890's-1920
Country/Region of Manufacture: France
Vintage: Yes
