$18,800
Twenty-Key Barrel Organ by Thibouville Lamy with Automaton Monkey Violinist, circa 1860, with papier-mache head, carved and painted wood lower limbs, articulated eyes, lip, ankle and left leg, in original silk-floss wig, white satin waistcoat, red breeches and tailcoat edged in lace and cut-paper, on rosewood base with plinth feet, inlaid motif of a Spanish dancer, and two six-air barrels driving worm-gear to five wood cams, a star wheel and a pinned wheel for the eight automaton movements (turning and nodding head, blinking, chattering, tapping left foot and leg, and two motions of the right arm), in room setting with draped mirror, original paper covering, violin case, tricorn hat and stand with sheet music headed Fabrique d'Instruments de Musique, Husson-Buthod & Thibouville, Rue St. Martin, 254 et devant Rue Grenetat, 13 & 15, a Paris , ht. 34 in., barrels 12 1/2 in. Note: Thibouville Lamy was a large retailer of musical instruments - both manual and self-playing - founded in 1790. Their name is often found on musical boxes by L'Epee, as well as on barrel organs and serinettes (some with automata) produced by the makers at Mirecourt. The monkey is probably by Paris automaton maker Theroude, who patented designs for a very similar monkey violinist in 1862.
Auctioneer:
Skinner
Date:
2005-05-03
