Birds of Prey, Scarce and Marvelous Riedel, Nuremberg Mechanical Valentine c. 1830s elephant shaped A perfect gift for an

A perfect gift for an Arkansas--or Arkansawyer--I'd say

flat orange roof and draped windows

and of crocodiles

which is how the carved lock (which looks rather like a rudder) is secured and held tight via a knot on the opposite side of the box

orange and yellow

Birds of Prey, Scarce and Marvelous Riedel, Nuremberg Mechanical Valentine c. 1830s elephant shaped A perfect gift for anAmazing! I love going to Brimfield, but occasions of finding true treasures digging through boxes in far corners happens less and less and less. But then this, and a second early mechanical valentine also listed today the sort of lucky finds that keep me ever hopeful. This is quite a rare one, an early mechanical valentine, published by Riedel in Nuremberg, Germany, for English export, c. 1830s I believe. My first photo shows both "before" and "after"