Total joy finding this one, which is all the more charming in hand, including for the fact that with a little coaxing the ball will spin on its post and the flippers will flap around some too. Original peachy/pink paint still holding on along the sides and up the neck, and painted red collar too. And then someone's happy addition of a hand-decorated ping pong ball at some point (replacing original tin or celluloid ball, I believe)--which I think makes him all the better. This certainly looks to be an early one, most closely resembling a c. 1900 Lehman sea lion, but that one was not balancing a ball on its nose!
5" l x 5" t including ball, 2 1/2" w. This has lived a life for sure, plenty of paint loss, replaced ball and this one is punched in a bit at bottom, and mechanics are a bit inconsistent--but key winds smoothly, ball will spin, wheels will turn, and flipper will flap.
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