Cute little piggies.. They still work too.. The craftsmanship is amazing, the hand painting. The materials used are not just molded plastic like most toys are made these days, these museum items are composed of materials like velvet, porcelain, clay, and hand blown beads.
The mechanics, amazing! This alligator almost looks real. I think toys like this would inspire any child (or child-like adult) to play and imagine and create.
Does this toy look familiar? Mechanical Bear built in 1872, and my dog-godson Mowgli built in 1999.
This was one of my favorites; it is a music box with a mechanical doll lounging on a day bed, she could be viewed on either side of the frame, as well as viewed from different angle in the mirror placed above the lounging mechanical doll.
