$5,500
Sold
sold
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Description
20" (51 cm.) Standing upon a velvet-covered platform is a bisque head doll with large brown glass paperweight inset eyes,dark eyeliner,painted lashes and brows,closed mouth,pierced ears,auburn mohair wig over cork pate,carton torso and legs,wire upper arms,bisque lower arms,wearing (worn) original red and green silk jacket,black pantaloons,silk apron,holding a wooden baton in one hand and appearing to carry a wooden lidded barrel from gold cords around his neck (actually attached to protruding rods from his torso). When wound,music plays,the boy turns his head side to side and nods,while waving the baton,and periodically spinning the arrows at the top of the barrel as though spinning a lottery wheel. The barrel has gold lettering "A La Renomme". Condition: generally excellent,two fingers broken,music and mechanism function well. Marks: Depose Tete Jumeau 4 (head) L.B. (key). Comments: Leopold Lambert,circa 1890,Comments: the automaton depicts the "marchand d'envies" (merchant of wishes),a popular entertainment of the time at parks such as Jardin de Luxembourg; for a few cents children could ask the marchand to twirl the lottery wheel,and where it landed would decide what prize the child would win . Value Points: very rare model with original L.B. paper tune label indicating "La Grosse Caisse" tune and original Au Nain Bleu paper label. As the automaton did not appear in the Lambert catalog it is likely that it was a special commission for Au Nain Bleu,commemorating a child's joyful memory.