> Great find on the minstrel toy.
>
> Louis Marx, do a patent search on "in/(louis and marx)", made a
> lot of toys and they're all collectors' items. Perhaps his
> tamborine or drummer was adapted to be a bones player.

For some reason the patents won't display for me, some plug-in issue
I guess....

But the Secor toy I linked to is from the 1860s, some 60 years before
Marx started making his toys!

Here's some more info on the Secor toy:
http://www.news-antique.com/?id=781057
Early black-themed American toys in the Brady group include two circa
1865 Jerome Secor rarities. Secor made only five clockwork pieces
during the 1860s. One is known as the Tambourine Player, and in
Brady's opinion, the example he has consigned is the nicest of the
three or four known to exist. "The man turns his head back and forth,
shakes the tambourine in his hand and keeps the beat by moving his
foot up and down," said Brady, explaining the toy's action. The other
Secor toy is called Brudder Bones, and depicts a man playing the
"bones" as his head goes back and forth while his foot taps. "For
that era, it was a very sophisticated toy."

> I really enjoyed the music. You're awesome! Thanks for sharing.

Gorsh, thanks!