409 - Schuco clown with violin, mechanical tin toy, dancing figure with clockwork and fabric clothing

Schuco clown with violin, mechanical tin toy, dancing figure with clockwork and fabric clothing Tin and fabric, mechanical tin toy by Schuco, dancing figure clown with violin, marked on the foot. White-painted clown face with red nose and red mouth, red hair with small black cap, beige neckerchief, red jacket, flesh-coloured waistcoat with two black buttons, brown and beige checked trousers. Red-brown violin with silver-coloured fingerboard under the chin, bow arm of tin. Clockwork with winding square in the back, without key. Condition commensurate with age, clothing torn and thinned in places, violin bow missing, clockwork needs overhauling. H. 11 cm. The Schuco brand goes back to the firm Schreyer & Co., founded in Nuremberg in 1912 by Heinrich Müller together with the merchant Heinrich Schreyer; in 1921 the name Schuco was formed from Schreyer and Co. The range began with felt and plush goods; the later dancing figures turn in a circle, driven by clockwork. Schuco listed the violin-playing clown as dancing figure no. 986/2, and the 1938 catalogue illustrates the model. After the Second World War the musician appeared under the name "Solisto", early examples with the mark "US-Zone". The pig with violin (980/2) and the pig with drum (980/1) belong to the same family of wind-up figures.