Located in Incline Village, NV
Jack-in-the-box toys date from 15th century England, but became very prevalent from the middle of the 19th century until present day.
This rare black themed toy Jack-in-The-Box, circa 1890, is in all original hand paint and condition with no restoration or touch up. It is made of lithographed paper applied to thin wood, with a figure of a black man inside, who would have popped out of the box upon release, startling the unexpected viewer (should not be operated as such today). The composition figure is hand painted with black hair, a brown face, white eyes with black pupils, and reddish orange lips. He is wearing red felt clothing with a white lace color. There is a slight chip to the nose of the figure (see image). It is of similar manufacture as that of a German Noah's Arks of the same period with the applied paper and thin wood, and similarly, unmarked. The condition is very good overall, the paper is solidly intact albeit, there are some paper losses (see images), the figure is still spring loaded, his clothing is original and very good; and other than the small chip on the nose, there is almost complete coverage of paint to the figure.
Dimensions: the box is a 3 3/4" cube...
Category
1890s German Folk Art Antique Composition Toys