I found an article in an old French technical magazine La Nature from 1897 about a sweeping violin player made by Martin.
This piece is put in motion by a clockwork mechanism
It was first made in 1897
light approx 20cm ( 7,87 inch)
Fernand Martin number 160
This toy is one of the most produced pieces and was even produced by Victor Bonnet until the 1930s
There are two versions, the oldest version has a long overcoat, as also mentioned in the article below, the version with a short coat was produced later, presumably a cost saving.
A free translation of the above text:
The violinist.
Here is a charming toy that has a lot of drive.
A poor fellow in a long overcoat, with a top hat not without a few strokes, walks around with a violin in his hand, and in his journey he lets out some musical tunes.
The motor mechanism, which controls both the movement of the legs and the richt arm, is a spring placed inside and that an external key is enough to set it in motion.
The violinist you can find at Mr. Fernand Martin, 88, boulvard Ménilmontant, in Paris.
PAY ATTENTION when you will buy one
There are figurines for sale that were not produced by Martin, Flersheim or Bonnet, these are counterfeit / iomitations, for the untrained collector perhaps not immediately recognizable at first but take a look at the following violinists, these are all counterfeit / imitations.
