Faventia Street (Barrel) Piano - These delightful pieces were produced in Barcelona, Spain between around 1950 and 1960. The entire set includes the miniature piano, wagon, donkey and the organ grinder.  It is extremely rare to find a complete collection, in large part because they were created for the amusement of children.  Few survived.  They were developed by the Vicente Llinares factories, inspired by a nostalgia for the days when men and women (but mostly men) would crank the handle of a street organ and create music with the hope that fans or passersby would toss them some change.

The last seen contemporary reference to these (known, to date) was in the December 1960 Sears Christmas Catalog, where they sold new for $450 (which was the price of a used car).  These were created to be high-level children’s toys. 

The Street Piano can either be hand-cranked or plugged in.  One criticism made of these machines is that the tuning pins were not long enough, and they tend to fall out of tune quickly.