Ball in Cage with Links (and Hole!) Whimsy handmade postcard mid 19th century I believe

mid 19th century I believe

and an image I think I'd never tire of looking at and thinking about

A charming little house

I'm not sure the source of this antique bookplate

And indeed when they are hung and left to balance and bob and turn in the breeze

Ball in Cage with Links (and Hole!) Whimsy handmade postcard mid 19th century I believePart of what I love most about this whimsy, which I believe has a fair amount of age to it, is the round hole that runs straight through one of the links but touches neither edge, giving the whole thing a sort of miraculous precariousness. (I have no idea how it got there. That curious hole aside, it was quite nicely carved, all from one piece of wood, with an interesting long double ended link, two smaller ones of different lengths, and a ball in