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Madame Alexander Doll Company and became one of America’s most
celebrated doll makers
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HAPPY
HOLIDAYS
FEATURED
ANTIQUE
Cast-iron
Horse-racing Bank
A Musical
Chair for Musical Chairs
by Bob Brooke
Musical
chairs has always been a fun party game. The fact that it began with a
"musical chair" seems lost in obscurity. The Swiss and
Germans, known for their music boxes, found a novel way to insert one in
the seat of an elaborately decorated chair. A hostess placed the chair
among others in a circle. The game’s players walked around the circle
while the music from the chair’s music box played. Whoever sat on the
chair and stopped the music by engaging the switch that turned off the
music box, had to leave the game. The last person to remain won.
Craftsmen, producing the chairs from the 1880s
to the 1920s, used several kinds of wood, usually walnut plus some
exotic varieties for inlays. They usually didn’t sign their chairs.
Often, these chairs came in a set with an armchair and side chairs.
Today, the chair pictured here, owned by Sherrill and Barb Edwards of
West Grove, Pennsylvania, is priced at $2,100. Most, however, sell for
about $1,500.
No antiques or collectibles
are sold on this site.
How to Recognize and
Refinish Antiques for Pleasure and Profit
Have
you ever bought an antique or collectible that was less than perfect and
needed some TLC? Bob's new book offers tips and step-by- step
instructions for simple maintenance and restoration of common antiques.
Read an
Excerpt
Auction News
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around the country and the world.
Musical
chairs has always been a fun party game. The fact that it began with a
"musical chair" seems lost in obscurity. The Swiss and
Germans, known for their music boxes, found a novel way to insert one in
the seat of an elaborately decorated chair. A hostess placed the chair
among others in a circle. The game’s players walked around the circle
while the music from the chair’s music box played. Whoever sat on the
chair and stopped the music by engaging the switch that turned off the
music box, had to leave the game. The last person to remain won.
