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Wi-Co

Maker unknown, c. 1910, 12 ¹/₂". This will be a short description because I know nothing about this model except for what's in Silent Salesmen Too, and that it's easier to find a unicorn in the wild than it is to find than a Wi-Co. It's made completely of cast iron, even the mechanism (that tidbit is Mr. Enes's contribution). The globe is a glass cylinder that sets in a cagey kinda structure, which may not be unique but as I type this I can't think of another model that does it. I don't mean using a glass cylinder---lots of models do that---but the cage-like nature of the globe enclosure is unusual. "WI-CO" is embossed in the top surface of the machine in front of the globe, as you can see here.

The example above is 100% original. I know of only two other examples; one in a friend's collection and the one pictured in Silent Salesmen Too. The person who sold it to me probably has one, too, or else he wouldn't have sold it, so let's assume at least four exist. I'd wanted one of these since I first saw the picture of it in Silent Salesmen Too (page 164, if you're curious) but figured this was one model that was so rare and so in-demand that I'd probably never get the chance. Then at the October 2024 Chicagoland show, a seller pulled this out of a box and started to walk the length of the table I was standing in front of in order to set it in an open spot to my left. He didn't make it past me, and the machine never hit the table. I held out my hands and whimpered, and he heard it and took pity on me and placed it into my outstretched hands. I inspected it briefly, confirmed with him that it worked, and said "I'll take it."