During an era when Macy’s owned many independent department store divisions around the country, all of them the leading chains in their cities, Bamberger’s was the star of the Macy’s family.  Bamberger’s shaped the suburbs of North Jersey and the rest of the state by proving, starting in the 1950s, that the giant department stores found in cities could play in places such as Paramus. It also taught the company that now operates America’ leading national department store chain, Macy’s, important lessons about how to sell in the suburbs.  During this time as well, the innovation of the life-sized automaton was a key component to the stores overall appeal and familiar display. This baseball player automaton rotates back and forth and measures nearly three feet tall.  The figurine has implanted hair and offers a nostalgic looking facial expression that brings back the childhood memories of those who can still remember talking out the family car on a mild spring day and walking into the department store on the weekend, seeing the larger than life size displays and as a child simply being in awe of the scenery. 

The automaton is made by renowned creator David Hamburger and is a relatively self-operating machine designed to automatically follow a predetermined sequence of operations, in this case a back and forth rotation.  The plug has been refurbished but the figurine is fully functional and is a highly desirable sports collectable harkening back to the Golden days of the retail conglomerates.  The figurine comes sourced from North Jersey with the original attribution of being on display at a Bamberger’s department store.   It is very rare to find such a large functioning automaton that captures the period of the 1950s and 1960s such as this one does.  Please note that shipping will be slightly higher than on most other lots due to the size of the figure.

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