$44,000
Sold
sold
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Description
26"(66 cm.) seated. Posed in seated position is a dark brown complexioned paper mache man
with highly characterized facial features,brown glass eyes,hinged jaw,two rows of painted
teeth,fleeced hair,carton torso and legs with left leg crossed,wearing vibrant costume of
striped silk trousers,blue velvet jacket with gold silk lapels,ivory velvet vest,bow tie,hat,shoes.
Condition: generally excellent,mechanism function well. Comments:
Mueller,Sonneberg,Germany,circa 1900,just as the Sonneberg doll makers sought to capture
the French doll market,so the Sonneberg toy makers sought to capture the lucrative French
automaton buyers; Adolph Mueller was one of the more successful of these Sonneberg firms.
His Black Man with Banjo has four movements: turns and nods his head,blinks his eyes,opens
and closes his mouth as though singing,and strums the banjo. Value Points: rare automaton in
wonderfully preserved condition.