Birds of Prey, Scarce and Marvelous Riedel, Nuremberg Mechanical Valentine c. 1830s elephant shaped The name comes from Platt

The name comes from   Platt Rogers Spencer (1800–1864)

black cut paper mounted to cream paper

which is how the carved lock (which looks rather like a rudder) is secured and held tight via a knot on the opposite side of the box

a solid black shadow version of itself

Birds of Prey, Scarce and Marvelous Riedel, Nuremberg Mechanical Valentine c. 1830s elephant shaped The name comes from PlattAmazing! I love going to Brimfield, but occasions of finding true treasures digging through boxes in far corners happens less and less and less. But then this, and a second early mechanical valentine also listed today the sort of lucky finds that keep me ever hopeful. This is quite a rare one, an early mechanical valentine, published by Riedel in Nuremberg, Germany, for English export, c. 1830s I believe. My first photo shows both "before" and "after"