1959 Yonezawa, Battery Operated “Teddy the Artist†in Original Box
Pristine near mint example of scarce “Teddy the Artist†by Yonezawa. Works great! Complete with all nine original pattern plates and correct Teddy crayon. Comes with original illustrated box. Based on a late 19th century automaton the toy uses “hidden†metal patterns to “magically†draw a recognizable outline of an animal. A removable slot located underneath the desk precisely fits the shape of 1 of 9 animals. The slot is reinserted into the desk. Turn it on and its right hand follows the outline to seemingly create its own animal drawing. As Teddy’s hand and arm completes the drawing its head moves from side to side, while the eyes blink up and down. This gives it an overall effect of extreme concentration as it creates its masterpiece. The paper pad has been replaced, but the crayon is original with its full Teddy Artist paper label. The base, chair and desk are tin litho. Teddy wears his original fabric clothing with felt collar and beret. The head is flocked fur with celluloid muzzle and tin litho moving eyes. The hands are plastic. The animal patterns include duck, elephant, camel, butterfly, bear, dog, cat, squirrel, and rabbit. Each is approximately 3†wide. The toy was available for only one year through the Sears Roebuck Christmas catalog. It originally sold for $3.98 without batteries. The box has color illustrations on every panel. The cover shows the toy by itself. Side panels include an insert of an amazed kid portrait on an easel. Front and rear panels have a headshot of Teddy outlining a rabbit and looking straight ahead at “youâ€. Size: 6½†x 7†x 9½â€. Sold: Aug. 2012
Price Sold: $ 400
