Glossary

Comb Music Boxes. Combs come in a variety of sizes and ranges of notes. A simple one octave diatonic comb can produce a wide range of tunes and chords. Reference:…

Gold music boxes are some of the finest and even non-working ones can fetch high sums of money. They are often found in miniature forms and can be as small…

Walnut is a hard wood with hues which range from light to dark. Various walnut trees are used in the production of objects but the most common are English walnut…

French music boxes are usually of high quality and come in many shapes and sizes. Although the cases may be of French origin, the movements may be Swiss. Below are…

Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. It is a versatile metal making it useful in both musical movements and as a container in novelty music boxes. Although it…

Automaton Music Boxes. Automatons have been around since the Hellenistic era  but they are more commonly recognized nowadays as toys which move to a defined pattern. However, automatons, or moving…

Ormolu Music Boxes. The manufacture of true ormolu employs a process known as mercury-gilding or fire-gilding, in which a solution of mercuric nitrate is applied to a piece of copper,…

Rosewood Music Boxes. Rosewood was often used in antique furniture, jewelry boxes, musical instruments and music boxes. Genuine rosewood is now a protected species due to over exploitation although antique…

Swiss Music Boxes. For most of the 19th century, the bulk of music box production was concentrated in Switzerland, building upon a strong watchmaking tradition. The first music box factory…

Ebony has a long history of use, with carved pieces having been found in Ancient Egyptian tombs. By the end of the 16th century, fine cabinets for the luxury trade…

The organ is a keyboard instrument of one or more pipe divisions or other means for producing tones, each played with its own keyboard, played either with the hands on…

A spinet is a smaller type of harpsichord or other keyboard instrument, such as a piano or organ. Miniature spinets could be used in music boxes and musical clocks. Below…