A small and rare toy from times gone by: a lithographed flower made of blue tin with embossed petals, with a bee also made of tin in the center.
When the lever is pressed, the bee circles the flower and flaps its wings vigorously.
Spark toys had the peculiarity of working, in addition to the hand-operated mechanism, also thanks to a small flint that, when the plunger was pressed, produced a rotational movement, which caused the flint to emit sparks, displaying a sort of flashing light.
Fortunately, the flints for these toys are still readily available today, so we can still use them as they were in the past and appreciate their ingenuity.
The toy is German-made. The first units were produced in the 1920s, then production was interrupted due to World War II. A very small run was later produced in the immediate post-war period, and this toy likely belongs to that production. Excellent condition, fully functional, beautiful lithograph.
NB: The only thing missing is the spring that allows the lever to automatically return; the toy works perfectly even without the spring, although it's easily available as a replacement. The last photo uploaded was taken from the web to show the missing spring.
