Fernand Martin Tin Windup Dancing Couple, Les Valseurs No. 219 for Sale *SOLD*

Fernand Martin Tin Windup For Sale- Dancing Couple, Les Valseurs No 219

It is our Pleasure to offer a 1910 Fernand Martin classic– Les Valseurs.  Translated it means “The Waltzers”, and in fact this working windup dances a complex series of maneuvers similar to a waltz.  Unusually, the feet/rollers double as a windup mechanism.

The toy is about 8 inches high.

Delicate fabric is very well intact and in excellent condition minus the spotting on the dress from the metal underneath.  Paintwork on the feet is all original; the heads have been restored and repainted.

We wish to emphasize that the clothing, with the bright red cloak and her delicate lace, is the best preserved we have seen and have seen in other collections.  The velvet lapel and jet black pants are incredibly preserved and dark.  The toy was found in an attic 100 years later in the Dakotas.

The Martin trade mark is hidden, but marked under the dress with a circle and then a F.M. inside the circle- see the photos.

Our research shows the instructions were– “Wind up the key to be found underneath the dress and lay the toy on a level smooth surface.”  The toy was made in France in 1910 and was likely a shorter run due to World War 1.