This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 9/12/2024
“Electric Sailor Machine” Painted Cast Iron Figure. Leipzig: Polyphon Musikwerke, ca. 1910. Sailor with two (apparently later) painted wooden arms on metal pins, each hand with a flag pole (one flag is present, the other is missing), holes in each eye as issued. Back of sailor is plain painted wood. Arms swing freely. Coin slot on sailor’s shirt on his left side. 18 ¾” high, 11 ½” wide. Some wear, scuffing, no electric mechanism present. Originally, this figure was on a metal base. When a coin (some examples of this were fitted for an American nickel) was inserted into the sailor’s coin slot, he would wink (via lights in his eyes) and would deliver a “fun” electric shock when his right arm was pushed back and the left was held (arms were originally metal). Although the present lot has had his mechanism and base removed and his arms apparently replaced, it is still quite rare.