A Mills Chicago 5c. musical cabinet

VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price plus bu… Read more

Details

A Mills Chicago 5c. musical cabinet
the oak case numbered AU5144 and AU3834, with six coin slots, brass winding handle, central roulette wheel flanked by leaf mouldings and columns with capitals, the base containing an eight-air nickel-plated cylinder movement behind pierced and glazed metal panel decorated with lyres, on cast cabriole legs with paw feet - 66in. (168cm.) high, (restoration and replacement parts, possibly an old Dewey conversion); and instruction sheets

Special notice

VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price plus buyer's premium. This lot is subject to Collection and Storage Charges.

Lot Essay

An early attempt to evade gambling laws, the Chicago incorporated a cylinder musical box movement in the base, allowing it to be marketed as a "musical cabinet" rather than as a gaming device. The handle winds both the musical movement, which is activated independently, and the roulette wheel when a coin is inserted.

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