Whirligig in the form of a caricatured man swatting a bee

A painted, wooden whirligig in the form of a caricatured man swatting a bumble bee. The man is standing on a dark, wooden block. He is depicted wearing a red jacket, black necktie, white shirt, yellow pants, and black boots. The tails of his jacket are made of red painted metal. A yellow top hat with a red band sits atop his head. He has a spherical head, painted black, with round white eyes and a large red and white mouth. He has large, round paddles for hands. His arms spin around to swat at a wooden bumble bee suspended from the top hat by a curved metal wire. The bee has a black head, black and yellow striped body, white wings, and a metal stinger. A card with handwritten text is tied around the man’s leg with tan cord. It reads [Limited Edition of / "Blackman Swatting Bee" / Inspired by an antique / whirligig in a private / collection. Artist Unknown / Midwest[…?] 1880. Made of / wood & Tin / Signed & Numbered #11/250]. The text on the back of the card reads [Whirligig makers often / attempted humor in / their pieces, for they / were intended to / amuse!].

Credit: Gift of the Collection of James M. Caselli and Jonathan Mark Scharer