Late 19th Century Wind-Up Mechanical Wood Ives Preacher at Pulpit

These rare wood clockwork mechanical toys are becoming quite scarce. When the black preacher moves up and down, he turns his head and hits the podium with his two hands. 

Unfortunately, the winding mechanism is not working but when you move the preacher by his waist, you can see the head move and hand movement.  The wooden black face and body with metal leg supports are in very good condition as are the painted wood base and the pulpit. The small Bible is missing from the top of the felt-covered pulpit surface. The preacher has a wonderful expression on his face. 

The 10 1/2" tall mechanical toy provides easy access to the wind-up mechanism through a few screws that can be removed towards the bottom of the box.  The clothing of the preacher is original and the shirt and pants have seen better days. The long-tail felt coat is also present and provides a decent image of a well-dressed man with authority and presence. 

Because the toy is not working, we have discounted the value of this box by 50% hoping that some handy collector will replace the wind-up mechanism to help save the great legacy that these rare boxes by Ives deserve.

If a buyer wishes to place this toy on display without fixing the windup mechanism, that collector will not be disappointed with the appearance of this great preacher.