Swiss Music Box for 6 Tunes with Cylinder Mechanism, ca.1800-1900.

Beautiful Swiss Music Box, in Solid Beech Wood imitating Rosewood and Limoncello. Cylinder mechanism that allows the reproduction of six wonderful melodies. Piece manufactured in Switzerland between 1800 and 1900 possibly for the English market. Formed by a beautiful casing inlaid with lemongrass, the truly wonderful thing is housed inside. It has a rotating central cylinder with small pins in charge of registering the melody, and the 55-pin comb that offers the possibility of listening to six different complete melodies. The machinery is protected by a glass for better preservation, and the detail of the melodies appears adhered on the lower part of the lid accompanied by beautiful drawings of musicians and people dancing. The piece is in extraordinary state of preservation and operation, has mechanics in perfect conditions of use, with original key and with its complete comb, something very important to take into account if we want to listen to the melodies from the first day we have it in our possession! Music boxes as an object in itself, can be said to have its birth in the eighteenth century, but not consolidated as object for listening to music until the nineteenth century. They arise from an important and well-known Swiss industry that would start making watches, developing the first music boxes like this example. Mechanism formed by a central cylinder with small nails that, after operating the crank, makes it rotate, causing the nails to touch the steel teeth in the form of comb, housed inside the box, getting the desired melody is produced. Undoubtedly a wonderful piece that will transport us to the past just by operating its mechanism. Measures: 19 x 42 x 12 cm; 15, 5 cm (cylinder length).