A 1920s antique continental clockwork walking circus clown toy

A charming scarce antique clockwork clown toy from the 1920s.

With hand painted composite head with large red nose and smiling expression.

The head is attached to a tin body with a turn key mechanism.

It is dressed in a traditional continental circus clown costume with a bell attached to the end of each of the arms.

Once the toy is wound up, he walks slowly forward and the torso twists quickly which causes the arms to move, ringing the bells in turn. A video of the clown in operation can be seen on our instagram account, a link to which can be found on the website home page.

The clown measures 25.5cm tall.

With age related wear and tear, and some discolouration to the costume.

The head has survived well.

The key turns and the clown operates as described. Given the toy's age, the animation works best when fully found. Occasionally the toy does require slight assistance to start moving forward. 

Presence of a safety pin where the orignal fastening to the back of the costume would have been.

This is a scare example of a clock work toy from this period.