1890s Toys and Dolls

Fabulous and classic cast iron toy from the early thirties. In what looks like to the original Red with Nickel Wheels and the right amount of wear to th...

This elegant pipe of white brass and bamboo dates to early 20th century Japan and was used for smoking finely shredded tobacco (kizami-tabako). Known as a rao-kiseru, these short smo...

PRESENTING an EXTREMELY UNIQUE and RARE 19C British Tunbridgeware Hair Pin/Bobbin or Slide. This slide is unlike any of it’s kind we have seen before, it is a VERY RARE survivor. From circa 1860 – 80 and made in Tunbridge Wells, England. Made of walnut with gorgeous marquetry inlay on the entirety of the front with classic Tunbridgeware micro-mosaic all over the front. The rear is walnut. The marquetry inlay appears to be various different woods, namely, maple, walnut and satinwood. Would have been worn in a Lady’s hair bun with the micro-mosaic facing forward. This would have belonged to a VERY ELEGANT LADY in the mid to late 19th Century. Tunbridge ware is a form of decoratively inlaid woodwork, typically in the form of boxes, that is characteristic of Tonbridge and the spa town of Royal Tunbridge Wells in Kent in the 18th and 19th centuries. The decoration typically consists of a mosaic of many very small pieces of different coloured woods that form a pictorial vignette. Shaped rods and slivers of wood were first carefully glued together, then cut into many thin slices of identical pictorial veneer with a fine saw. Elaborately striped and feathered bandings for framing were pre-formed in a similar fashion. There is a collection of Tunbridge ware in the Tunbridge Wells Museum and Art Gallery in Tunbridge Wells. The famous makers of Tunbridge ware were in the Tunbridge Wells area of Kent; their most notable work was from circa 1830-1900. Early makers of Tunbridge ware, in Tunbridge Wells in the mid-18th century, were the Burrows family, and Fenner and Co. In the 19th century, around 1830, James Burrows invented a technique of creating mosaics from wooden tesserae. Henry Hollamby, apprenticed to the Burrows family, set up on his own in 1842 and became an important manufacturer of Tunbridge ware, employing about 40 people. Edmund Nye (1797–1863) and his father took over the Fenner company when William Fenner retired in 1840, after 30 years in partnership with him. Thomas Barton (1819–1903), previously apprenticed at the Wise factory, joined the Nyes in 1836, and worked as Nye’s designer; he took over the business in 1863 and continued there until his death. In Tonbridge (near to Tunbridge Wells), George Wise (1703–1779) is known to have had a business in 1746. It continued with his son Thomas, and Thomas’s nephew George (1779–1869), who took over in 1806. In its early years the company made articles such as workboxes and tea caddies with prints of popular views; later items had pictures created from mosaics. Their workshop in Tonbridge, Wise’s Tunbridge Ware Manufactory, was next to the Big Bridge over the Medway; the building was demolished in 1886 to widen the approach to the bridge. Tunbridge ware became popular with visitors to the spa town of Tunbridge Wells, who bought them as souvenirs and gifts. Articles included cribbage boards, paperweights, writing slopes, snuffboxes and glove boxes. At the Great Exhibition of 1851, Tunbridge ware by Edmund Nye, Robert Russell and Henry Hollamby was shown; Edmund Nye received a commendation from the judges for his work. He exhibited a table depicting a mosaic of a ship at sea; 110,800 tesserae were used in making the picture. The manufacturers of Tunbridge ware were cottage industries, and they were no more than nine in Tunbridge Wells and one in Tonbridge. The number declined in the 1880s; competent craftsmen were hard to find, and public tastes changed. After the death of Thomas Barton in 1903 the only surviving firm was Boyce, Brown and Kemp, which closed in 1927. Marquetry was an old technique which was continued by Nye and Barton to create images such as birds or butterflies. ‘Green Oak’ as caused by the fungus Chlorociboria aeruginascens. Stickware and half-square mosaic was invented by James Burrows in about 1830: a bunch of wooden sticks of different colours, each having triangular or diamond-shaped cross section, were tightly glued together; in the case of stickware, the resulting block was dried, then turned to form an article such as the base of a pincushion. For half-square mosaic, thin slices were taken from the composite block, and applied to a surface. Tesselated mosaic, was a development by James Burrows of half-square mosaic; it was adopted by George Wise and Edmund Nye. Minute tesserae were used to form a wide variety of geometric and pictorial designs. Many sorts of wood were used for the various colours; about 40 were in regular use. Only natural colors were used; green was provided by “green oak”, produced by the action of fungus on fallen oak. Designs for articles were often taken from designs of Berlin wool work.

Fabulous and in near mint condition Fiat 600 with a rollback cloth convertible top. From a lot of seventeen that were probably stored from day one, and never played with. Made by Ban...

Hand-painted cast iron mechanical bank "Punch and Judy Bank." A vintage book of knowledge Punch & Judy mechanical bank offers polychrome cast cons...

Bought in the south of France this set of antique doll carriages are an enchanting collection with wooden handles, original paint, and working wh...

A very rare 19th century cast iron equine hitching post in the form of a jock-ey. The jockey is classically dressed in the 19th century riding attire, com-prising of a black riding hat, red jacket and cream jodhpurs. The jockey is poised on a moulded blue plinth...

By the 18th century, opium use had become as central to Chinese social life as taking tea or smoking tobacco, fostering a subculture rich with its own customs, traditions, and exquis...

Manufactured in 1884 by the Shepard Hardware Company in Buffalo, New York, this cast iron mechanical bank measures 7 1/8" long and is in excellent all original condition and paint, especially considering that the Shepard Company did not use a primer rendering their surface more vulnerable than say, the Steven's Company. There is no touch up or repaint, and no restoration of any kind. Colors of bright red on the dress, flesh tones, tan colored dog, and maroon base are all very bright and crisp. The bank is accompanied by the original wooden box in which it was originally shipped; a very special find and charming piece of Americana. Rare to find the original box. The bank and box came directly from an estate and the original owner, and I have owned it since then for over 35 years. The theme of the bank depicts a young Victorian girl playing with her golden retriever. It is one of only four antique mechanical banks...

This is an outstanding and extremely rare hand crafted, solid sterling silver Mezuzah in the original leather and dark purple velvet box. It was made in Vienna, Austria between 1890 ...

Rare French early 19th century Napoleonic medal cabinet on four gilt bronze pawfeet, a hinged door to the top and front opening to reveal four drawers containing 184 very fine bronzed plaster medals...

A rare mid-19th century French Louis Philippe musical automaton framed wall clock A picturesque and highly decorative example of a rare mid-19th century French Louis Philippe musical automaton framed wall clock. A 5-cm enamel dial with Roman numerals in a hand painted church behind houses with an automaton watermill and windmill, with papier Mache 3D hills in the foreground with metal staircase...