Geneva Orchestra Music Box
$54,500.00
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This extremely rare Geneva Interchangeable Orchestral cylinder music box is attributed to the famed Allard firm of Geneva, Switzerland. The music box rests atop its original matching burl walnut table, which like the box, is inlaid with ebony and mother-of-pearl. Two drawers within the table house four of the music box’s original five cylinders. The music box is complete with bells, drums, castanets, an on/off lever, tempo control, repeat/change levers and a manual tune change lever. The sound is superb, retaining its crisp melodious tuning as each of the five cylinders plays eight different airs. It is truly a rare exception to find such an extraordinary music box in so complete a state, especially one of such monumental size and beauty.
Introduced in the 1870s, the orchestral music box revolutionized the industry. The addition of an organ to the drums, bells and castanets provided a new level of sound production and served to invigorate the industry, even though their production was very costly and they were generally accessible only to the exceptionally affluent. And, while most orchestral boxes are considered desirable, an example such as this includes numerous subtle advantages. First, these more elaborate and more expensive boxes allowed the listener to customize the sound of the music box by turning off one or many of the added instruments. One will also note that the bells are beautifully engraved, a feature not found on many boxes. Indeed, no detail was overlooked in the creation of this marvelous work.
Circa 1880
51 1/2” wide x 27 1/2” deep x 28 3/4” high
Literature:
The Wonderland of Music Boxes and Automata, 1989, Daniel Troquet
Encyclopedia of Automatic Musical Instruments, 1972, Q. David Bowers
Geneva Orchestra Music Box
$54,500.00
Introduced in the 1870s, the orchestral music box revolutionized the industry. The addition of an organ to the drums, bells and castanets provided a new level of sound production and served to invigorate the industry, even though their production was very costly and they were generally accessible only to the exceptionally affluent. And, while most orchestral boxes are considered desirable, an example such as this includes numerous subtle advantages. First, these more elaborate and more expensive boxes allowed the listener to customize the sound of the music box by turning off one or many of the added instruments. One will also note that the bells are beautifully engraved, a feature not found on many boxes. Indeed, no detail was overlooked in the creation of this marvelous work.
Circa 1880
51 1/2” wide x 27 1/2” deep x 28 3/4” high
Literature:
The Wonderland of Music Boxes and Automata, 1989, Daniel Troquet
Encyclopedia of Automatic Musical Instruments, 1972, Q. David Bowers