hand cut dovetailed moneybox / puzzlebox

One of my favorites - so weirdly unusual and fun.  I had to wait till I received it to be sure, and eventually figured out this moneybank / puzzle box's tricks. It has a spring inside that allows you to push the right button inwards, when you do, you can slide the front panel over to the right. This exposes a slide button that operates on a second spring, when you slide this piece of wood to the right, it releases the catch that holds the lid in place, allowing you to open the lid. It's tiny: 5 inches long, 3 1/4 inches wide and 3 1/2 inches tall. It is old and crusty with very small hand cut dovetails - a lot of love, care and effort went into this little box.

hand dovetailed moneybox / puzzlebox

Assuming that this was converted into a moneybox some time after its original making. I love the beautiful hand cut dovetails, but the stunning thing about this little box is the many steps required to open it. First, there is a little hollow in the top that joins both halves where a metal pin sits and locks the top together - you have to tap the box to one end to slide the pin back so that the top will swing open. After that, there is an unseen cavity in the swinging top portion that will accept a hidden pin when the box is turned upside down. Once this is done, this will allow the top, swinging section to be slid back to allow access to the box. Whew! I stumbled across this puzzle box and the other purely by accident, but I've been so fascinated by them that I've been looking for more ever since. Like the other one I have, the seller of this one didn't really know what it was or how it worked. 6 inches by 5 inches by 4 inches.

hand made acrobat / gymnast toy

A hand made acrobat / gymnast with great character and fantastic patina. Still going strong after all these years. 9 inches overall with the acrobat being about 5 inches.

Folk art, carved match holder with man

The man is only 5 inches tall and is carved separately from the bowl which is irregular in shape and also hand carved. Both are attached to a base that is a bakelite type material. Love the paint and little details of his suit, hat, cigarette, etc.

Folk art, carved jigger / limberjack

In overall good, complete condition. Hard to know how to date this little guy, but he has a nice solid colour and he moves easily. 9 inches tall.

folk art, carved clothespin doll

Grungy, crusty surface. Appears to represent a native American, but I'm unsure - has a very expressive face considering the whole thing measures just 3 1/2 inches long.

Folk art carved sailor

Sailor carved by a sailor? As a person who likes to whittle, I can appreciate the skill and craftsmanship that went into this piece carved out of a 1 inch by 1 inch piece of pine - 7 1/4 inches tall. Dates to 20's or 30's? So many little things to admire, the face, the hands and flags and the American shield on the bottom which says USCO- I believe this stands for U.S. Communications Officer but I'm not positive. Purchased a couple of months ago on eBay with only a couple of bidders competing for it.

Folk art, carved limberjack / jigger

A carved limberjack / jigger purchased from a RubyLane seller after I found it through a general search. Seller said that it originated from Quebec, Canada. Seems to have considerable age. Just under 9 inches tall.