$21,150
Coin-Operated Bicycle Race Gaming Machine by Mermod Freres, No. 641, with removable beveled-glass lid enclosing a velvet-covered race track and five cast-metal cyclists in white, red, blue, gold and green racing colors, five winning posts painted corresponding colors, coin-slot, plaque Osma, La Chaux-de-Fonds, (Suisse) and six-air cylinder movement No. 25916, in oak case with fielded panels, coin-drawer with carved laurel-leaf design, nickel-plated capstan wheel to double chain-drive for setting / releasing the racers and winding the cylinder movement, and stop / start knob for disconnecting the music, on turned tapering legs, wd. 41 x dpth. 28 x ht. 30 in. Note: Believed to be one four, the Bicycle Race was discovered in a warehouse in St. Croix, Switzerland, apparently never having been used commercially. In an attempt to evade American gambling laws, the earliest amusement machines would sometimes incorporate a cylinder musical box, allowing them to be sold as musical cabinets rather than as gaming devices.
Auctioneer:
Skinner
Date:
2005-05-03