Originally Posted by
jljack
Nancy, I have a set of Rudyard Kipling books printed in 1924 with the same "swastika" design as on this machine. (right under the lion on the center of the bed) Actually, it is an ancient symbol, and in India (where Kipling wrote many of his books) it is a "peace and goodwill" symbol. The Nazi swastika was bent the other way....these are bent to the left.
The swastika that is on this bed is what is seen in Asia. The earliest form dates back to India. Hitler's swastika took on the form of the earliest Indian swastika in the counter clockwise form, just minus the dots and rotated just a bit.
This swastika is more like the ones seen in Asia which is a clockwise form. The symbol represents good luck. It can be found in India, China, South Korea, and Japan and is associated with different religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism.
I have seen it on Buddhist temples in Japan.
This machine looks to be a Japanese clone- as Nancy has pointed out. Machine isn't rare, just the decals might be for here in the States.
Most likely made for the Asian market and not the German market.
The Coat of Arms doesn't even look German, which is a black eagle -unless your from Bavaria.
Britain likes to use Coat of Arms with lions. Maybe one of the British territories in Asia is what is shown on this machine. Not Hong Kong since it's Coat of Arms is a lion and dragon. Don't know what Bombay's Coat of Arms had looked. I don't know, just guessing here on location.