Offered here from the dougfinds collection of curated fashion, accessories, clothing, collectibles, and unique gifts is this vintage 1978 Gorham porcelain kitten music box, made in Japan and playing “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree.”

Okay, this one has some personality.

Perched very properly on a pink cushion atop an wonderfully detailed woven-basket-style base is a wide-eyed kitten wearing a bright yellow bow. The oversized blue eyes, pink nose and softly shaded cream, orange and brown coloring give it that unmistakable 1970s storybook/kitsch charm—and then you wind it up and the whole thing gets even better.

Inside is a Japanese Sankyo mechanical music movement playing the classic “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree.” The mechanism winds smoothly and plays properly, with the music box's operation demonstrated in the included eBay video.

Details & Features:

• Vintage Gorham decorative porcelain music box
• Dating to 1978
• Charming seated kitten with oversized blue eyes
• Bright yellow dimensional bow at the neck
• Pink cushion atop a highly detailed woven basket-form base
• Hand-painted and shaded decoration
• Mechanical wind-up music box
• Sankyo Japanese movement
• Plays “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree”
• External winding key and stop/start control
• Made in Japan
• Original “From the Gift World of GORHAM – Made in Japan” foil label remains attached underneath
• Approximately 6¼ inches tall
• Working operation shown in the included video

The underside is particularly nice to see on a surviving vintage example. Rather than hiding everything behind a modern covering, the original wood panel, mounting hardware, winding key, operating mechanism and Gorham foil identification label remain visible and have all been photographed.

Cosmetically, this one has also survived extremely well. No chips, cracks, crazing or repairs to the porcelain cat or decorative base. The painted details remain bright and expressive, including those enormous blue eyes.

This is one of those vintage pieces that works equally well for a cat collector, vintage music box collection, Gorham collector, 1970s décor display or lover of wonderfully cheerful Japanese-made kitsch. And unlike a decorative figurine whose mechanical condition has to be taken on faith, this one's performance is shown right in the listing video.

Please review all photographs carefully, as they are considered part of the description and provide the best representation of this item's condition.

Thank you for visiting dougfinds! Alyse and I encourage you to browse our dougfinds Store, where you'll find all of our carefully curated collection of fashion, accessories, collectibles, and unique gifts. Please feel free to message us at any time with your comments or questions.

Collector Search Terms

Gorham cat music box vintage kitten music box Tie a Yellow Ribbon Sankyo music box Japan porcelain cat 1978 Gorham kitten Japanese music box wind up music box vintage cat figurine kitsch cat decor Gorham Gift World