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The Burglar: a coin operated automata or 'working model' machine Made by Bollands, circa 1950 image 1
The Burglar: a coin operated automata or 'working model' machine Made by Bollands, circa 1950 image 2
The Burglar: a coin operated automata or 'working model' machine Made by Bollands, circa 1950 image 3
The Burglar: a coin operated automata or 'working model' machine Made by Bollands, circa 1950 image 4
The Burglar: a coin operated automata or 'working model' machine Made by Bollands, circa 1950 image 5
Lot 136TP

The Burglar: a coin operated automata or 'working model' machine
Made by Bollands, circa 1950

10 September 2024, 10:00 BST
London, New Bond Street

Sold for £7,040 inc. premium

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The Burglar: a coin operated automata or 'working model' machine

Made by Bollands, circa 1950
The diorama depicting a man sleeping in bed, the electric motor causing him to awake to find a burglar opening his safe and a policemen to enter the room and save the day, 60cm wide, 51cm deep, 181cm high (23.5in wide, 20in deep, 71in high)

Footnotes

The Bolland family produced one of the most diverse ranges of coin-ops in the UK, with an estimate of over 400 machines being produced over the third quarter of the 20th century.

Based in London, Frederick Bolland and his brother Arthur purchased old cabinets which had once contained claw 'grabber' machines. After WWII, when prizes to fill these machines were in short supply, the brothers re-purposed them by maintaining the frames and the mechanisms within and adapting the glass interiors with moving dioramas for entertainment such as the present lot.

Additional information

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