Circa 1940s Ornate Silver Baseball Music Box - Plays "Take Me Out to the Ballgame"

Sold For:

$5,100

Year:

1950

Auction:

2018 Spring

Lot #:

2199

Category:

Post-1900 Baseball Memorabilia

Exquisitely crafted silver-plated baseball music box produced by the Fred Zimbalist Music Box Company. The ornate design features a large "baseball" with a hinged lid, and two crossed "bats," both of which sit upon a diamond-shaped base. The "baseball" opens up to reveal a music-box movement encased within the top half and a hollow bottom. When the exposed knob is wound, the box plays the tune Take Me Out to the Ball Game. It must be noted that this is a rare, one-of-a-kind handcrafted piece. While the Fred Zimbalist Music Box company produced other similarly designed baseball music boxes during the 1940s and 1950s, no two were alike. All of the Zimbalist music boxes were constructed of brass and came with Thorens movements. What makes them special and highly prized by collectors today is the workmanship on the silver plating, which normally featured intricate and unique floral patterns. The music box offered here is no exception. In addition to the standard "stitching" on the ball, it also displays decorative floral motifs etched within each of its panels. The base and bats feature similar, unique, floral etchings, with the exception of one corner of the base, which most likely represents the "home plate" area. A blue-velvet padding lines the underside of the base. In the past 20 years we have seen approximately five other Zimbalist baseball music boxes offered at auction, but, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first time it has been accurately described. Because no manufacturer's markings are found on the music boxes, little was known about them, especially regarding their date of manufacture. (All of the other auction listings we have seen for these music boxes dated them to the early 1900s; the company was founded in the early 1940s). It is only recently that more information has come to light regarding their manufacturer and period of production. (Collectors on the Net54Baseball.com message board unearthed outstanding information surrounding these music boxes, which we have used to accurately offer this piece.) It is still not known if these baseball music boxes were produced in limited quantities for retail sale, or were only specially made to order, but given the few examples we have seen, the latter seems more probable. The offered box (6.5 x 6.5 x 7 inches; weighs 4 pounds), which remains in perfect working order, displays only minor surface wear and very light tarnishing, none of which detract in the least from its overall Near Mint appearance. In almost every instance of a music box designed in this style selling at a public sports auction, the sale prices have exceeded $10,000 and even crossed $20,000. We do not know what the true value of this piece is, but we do know that it is exquisite and represents one of the best display pieces of its type we've ever handled! This is an exceptional baseball display piece and one that would be a welcome addition to any advanced baseball memorabilia or music box collection. Opening Bid $2,000. Estimate (open).