$550
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sold
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Description
9" (23 cm.) x 7". The wooden-framed box has paper cover and glass front which covers a background scene of elegant salon which is fronted by two die-cut dancing women which are dimensionally attached. A paper label at the back instructs the user how to make the dolls dance, and warns "if all else fails, tap the top of the box with palm of the hand, and it will suffice to put the mechanism in motion". Condition: very good, mechanism functions well, some retouch to decorative framing papers. Marks: Robert Link (paper label). Comments: American, circa 1880, a series of mechanical sand toys were offered by his firm. Value Points: well-preserved toy, with label "Mechanical Box with Automaton" and instructions, functioning well.