$7,638
Rare Coin-Operated "Automatic Monopol" Chalet, Style 45Sch, with 11 3/4-inch disc musical movement, diametric combs, bedplate with cast oak-leaf design, coin-release with manual start and plaque Mettez une piece de 10 centimes , in architectural case with hinged roof forming the lid, painted half-timbered sides, simulated windows, door and carved rocky plinth with concealed coin-drawer, wd. 18 in., and approx. thirty-two discs. Note: Illustrated in Bower's Encylopaedia of Automtic Musical Instruments , p. 130. The Leipziger Musikwerk (Monopol) was responsible for a number of innovative designs for coin-operated musical boxes, including a teracotta automaton gnome fitted with a mechanism that allowed him to shake his head and refuse to play the music if a coin of the wrong size was deposited. Like the gnome, the chalet seems to have been produced in rather limited numbers, making this one of the scarcer examples of an early musical box / coin-op. combination.
Auctioneer:
Skinner
Date:
2005-11-03