$11,000
Sold
sold
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Description
30" (76 cm.) Standing upon a velvet-covered wooden
base is a jockey,having a paper mache head,glass
eyes,articulated eye lids,hinged jaw,painted
teeth,blonde mohair wig,one-piece carton torso and
legs,wire arms with hidden rubber tube for
"smoking" system,wearing silk jacket and kidskin
pants fitted to his body,black paper mache boots
with brown rims,and molded jockey cap with painted
striped and brim,He holds a cigarette holder in
one hand and a horse crop in the other. When
wound,the jockey turns his head and nods,while
blinking his eyelids,then draws the cigarette to
his mouth while opening and closing his mouth as
though inhaling. Turning his head again,he exhales
the smoke from his mouth. The smoke is actually
driven through a bellows-activated rubber tubing
hidden inside his torso and arm. Condition:
generally excellent,mechanism functions well.
Comments: Jean Roullet,mid-19th century,the
automaton appeared in the firm's early catalog as
model #184. Value Points: rare automaton is
well-preserved,has an old hand-written provenance
on its base.