Mandolin Singing Bird Automaton Music Box

This exceptionally wonderful and rare automaton cylinder musical box by the Mermod Fréres firm of Sainte-Croix, Switzerland is a marvel of musical crafts...

Tiny dancers twirl to the melodious tunes produced by this Swiss station cylinder music box. The cylinder is joined by a drum and bells that give richness and depth to the wonderful music the box creates. Music boxes were at the height of fashion in the late 19th century and served as a status symbol for the European gentry. Switzerland was the birthplace of cylinder music boxes and home to the great majority of the most renowned manufacturers. This example, in its finely crafted English walnut case, boasts two combs, allowing the box to play in harmony for a richer, more complex song. This particular style, commonly referred to as a “station” or “showcase” box, was used to entertain guests in hotel lobbies, train stations and other similar public places, and as such would have been coin-operated. This example, however, does not accept coins. This, combined with its overall quality, complexity and beauty, indicates it was made for a private household of significant means. Today, these ingenious musical masterpieces are highly sought-after by collectors of musical automata...

This outstanding Swiss cylinder music box was crafted by the prestigious firm of Le Coultre Freres of Geneva. The highly intricate movement plays a selection of twelve popular tunes ...

An extraordinary and rare coin-operated Regina Sublima upright music box crafted by the Regina music box company, one of the most recognized music bo...

A very nice quality and unusual antique music box with drum, bell and castanet and two-per-turn format made by Ami Rivenc in Geneva, Switzerland c. 1890. The fully serviced movement...

Swis music box with original tune sheet, cylinder, comb and the brass bed plate, within a rosewood case, the lid inlaid with boxwood lines and a central motif. Dimensions Height 8 ...

A magnificent drum, bell, and castanet orchestral music box with six interchangeable cylinders on matching table, made by Ducommun Girod in Geneva, Switzerland c. 1870. The mechani...

This is a lovely antique Swiss 10 airs Gonçalo Alves cylinder music box, manufactured by Langdorff & Fils, circa 1880. The case is inlaid and crossbanded with floral marquetry and banded decoration. The lid opens to reveal an ebonised interior with a glazed hinged cover showing the comb, and a paper label to the underside of the lid stating 'Fabrique De Geneve' Langdorff & Fils, Fabricants The music box has got its original tune sheet which is stamped: "No 24017 Fabrique de Geneve" and lists the ten tunes and composers. Condition: It is is in excellent condition and in working order. Dimensions in cm: Height 18 cm x Width 69 cm x Depth 27 cm Dimensions in inches: Height 7 inches x Width 2 foot, 3 inches x Depth 11 inches Music box (also musical box) is a 19th/20th century automatic musical instrument that produces sounds by the use of a set of pins placed on a revolving cylinder or disc so as to pluck the tuned teeth (or lamellae) of a steel comb. They were developed from musical snuff boxes of the 18th century and called carillons à musique...