Item Specific, Offering You Today : a very rare and desirable Antique Cast Iron Figural PARROT BIRD NUT CRACKER and at over 3-1/2 pounds it is heavy enough to use as a functional Doorstop too. This Poly-chrome Green, Red, Gold, with eye and feather color detail is Foundry Original Paint Finish. I t is an authentic antique in prized collector’s grade used condition. Item can be found in Cast Iron Collector’s Guides. This is from an unknown USA Foundry. I think it has the air of Art Deco within the shape of its raised tail mechanics. The Boston Terrier Button you will notice in one of the pictures is a magnet – which is a simple test to assure you that it is indeed cast iron. There is no structure damage that I noticed during inspection but please use the zoom tool to be double sure I have not overlooked anything important or unimportant in my observations. Completely stable, meaning, no parts are missing or have ever been glued back on and there is no evidence cracks, breaks, replacement, or repair to my eye. In my professional opinion there may be slight possibility that the screw was replaced sometime in the 1940’s – this is just a guess on my part since it is a small dome head vs flat – but maybe not since the poly-chrome paint is a perfect match on the screw. Finish is appropriate as well as texture for a makers typical materials; Paint or Patina is guaranteed to be 1st original finish. Creation date is from the cast iron/metals heyday era lasting from 1880’s into the early 1940’s (some Wright/Wilton pieces date into 1950’s). The Weight is shown in photos. To assess size, a soda can is 5 tall. All my cast iron listings are basically the same from here down. Caring for your antique cast iron figurals : I find the best was to bring out your item’s best color, preserve it’s original paint, and to protect it from too dry or too humid an environment is to clean it with original pledge. Other than dry feather dusting, I use the original pledge about 2x a year. Your item will arrive as clean as possible without doing deep detailed cleaning or museum preservation work – I will leave that to you. How can something so’durable’ be so’rare’? Many Victorian and turn of the century cast iron and metal figural items are rare or completely lost because of wartime efforts that took place for nearly half of the last century. During the Great War, World War II and beyond, there were constant neighborhood drives to collect all non-essential cast iron and metal goods. These items were then melted down for their materials to help with the manufacturing for our wars necessities and armament. Other special finds are those items which would have been for children, which typically would have been used vigorously then thrown away once out-grown. To Collector’s these figural sculptures are basically time capsules of a bygone era, wearing their beautiful battered paint proudly. They also have intense historical value as authentic artistic creations of the United States of America’s industrial age pioneer heroes. So, that’s why if you find one of these special collectibles, you should consider it a prize, and if you are a serious collector, you probably consider it priceless. Susie, The Dutchess of Arkansas & Her Business : Since I find these little treasures everywhere I can not verify the origin of many pieces. All of my items will come to you in fresh, clean and safe packaging. I always leave feedback once I have received yours, this way I know your product made it into your waiting happy hands. I also have a brick and mortar location of The Dutchess of Arkansas inside The Rose Antique Mall should you ever visit the NWArkansas area. Someone get me my tiara! The item “RARE Figural Parrot Bird Nut Cracker Tool Excellent Heavy Cast Iron as Doorstop” is in sale since Friday, February 07, 2014. This item is in the category “Antiques\Decorative Arts\Metalware”. The seller is “susiessensations” and is located in Bella Vista, Arkansas. This item can be shipped to United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Denmark, Romania, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Czech republic, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Estonia, Australia, Greece, Portugal, Cyprus, Slovenia, Japan, Sweden, South Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan, South africa, Belgium, France, Hong Kong, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Russian federation, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, Saudi arabia, Ukraine, United arab emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Croatia, Malaysia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa rica, Panama, Trinidad and tobago, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica.
- Maker: Unknown
- Type: Nut Cracker
- Primary Material: Cast Iron
- Age: 1880-1940
- Color: Green
- Original/Reproduction: Original
- Style: Americana
- Country/Region of Origin: USA
- Weight: approx 3-4 lbs
