We all know the chestnut vendor “Chauds les Marrons” , it was produced by Georges Flersheim but Fernand Martin bought the rights during the annual “Concours Lepine” in 1911.
Here an article from I found in the magazine “La Nature” from 1911 of the “original” toy.
A free translation:
TOYS
The chestnut vendor.
Here comes winter.
The chestnut merchant sets up his itinerant shop under a doorway or on a street corner and offers passers-by a bargain.
The one shown in our drawing is very natural.
With one hand he stirs the contents of the pan, with the other hand he keeps the circle and the movement of his head towards the oranges and chestnuts, kept warm under a cloth, very clearly indicating that he offers his goods to passers-by.
How does it all work?
The circular movement of the right arm, the one that stirs the chestnuts, is done by means of a rod A, driven by the spring mechanism placed in B, and crossing the pan to direct the hand using a pin C.
The head is driven by a rod D taken eccentrically and hidden in the body of the man from the “Auvergne” (province in France)
The inventor is mr. Raoul Maurin, 24 rue de Belfort, Paris.
I will soon make another blog with more details and things worth knowing about this toy.