Franklin House Collection:
19th Century Cylinder Music Box
This is believed to have been made in Switzerland during the latter part of the 19th century, however the manufacturer is unknown as there are no maker's marks visible.
It is housed in a wooden box cabinet with a hinged lid. Marquetry of a bunch of flowers feature on the lid. A hinged glass partition inside covers the mechanism chamber. There are 2 control levers to the right of the chamber and a ratchet-lever type winder on the left.
 The plucked 3-piece metal comb has 100 teeth and there are six bells which are a little unusual in that they have honey bee shaped strikers. There is also one snare drum with eight drumsticks. It is believed that bells and drums became a popular feature of music boxes during the 1880s and 1890s.
There are six tunes on the cylinder which sits at an offset in relation to the comb where that particular position brings a set of pins to bear to play a tune. The cylinder's speed is regulated by a rotating governor with two parallel air resistance paddles.
The printed label on the inside lid of the cabinet is a generic one and was used in a large number of different music boxes of the period. It is numbered 19226. The description of the music is handwritten and lists
- 1. Kiss me quick and go (Buckley),
- 2. Luslin chorus "now with joy each Bosom Beating (Wallace)
- 3.Thousand and One Nights Waltz No 1. (Strauss)
- 4. Auld Lang Syne
- 5.Comin thro the rye,
- 6. Pinafore Bell’s Trio “Ring the merry bells (Sullivan)
Video
A video of the music box playing may be viewed here 
(opens in a separate window)
|
