Music box with articulated wooden figures: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A wooden music box with two (2) articulated female figures on top made by the American Mechanical Toy Co. The box (a) is rectangular with a stepped wooden base and a flat wooden lid (b) with rounded edges. A decal with a blond girl in a blue dress is adhered to the front side of the box. Inside the box is a metal music box mechanism, with the metal key protruding from the back side of the box and a metal gear lock protruding from the proper left side of the box. Two (2) metal rods extend above the lid that are attached to the mechanism inside. An articulated wooden figure of a topless woman wearing a short cream lace skirt is attached between the legs to the top of each rod. The woman at the proper left (c) wear a lace headpiece while the woman at the proper right (d) has a red paste and white feathered headpiece. The woman on the left has a bright blue ribbon around her waist, while the woman on the right has the remnants of a pale blue ribbon at her waist. Each woman is painted black with white gloves and stockings, and black shoes. Metal pins are attached at the neck, shoulders, things, and ankles of the figures so that they have articulated movements. Stamped in black ink on the underside of the lid (b) is the text: AMERICAN MECHANICAL / TOY CO. NY.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: late 19th century
• Created by: American Mechanical Toy Co., American, founded 1868
• Type: music boxes
• Medium: wood, metal, and cloth
• Dimensions: H x W x D: 9 1/4 × 6 3/8 × 3 1/2 in. (23.5 × 16.2 × 8.9 cm)
• Place made: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Amusements
• Topic: Caricature and cartoons
• Topic: Music
• Topic: Stereotypes
• Topic: U.S. History, 1865-1921
• Object number: 2016.166.38a-d
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift from the Liljenquist Family Collection
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: No Known Copyright Restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.