Glossary

A zither attachment, when referred to in music boxes, is a removable arm with a strip of paper, introduced around 1870 and now often decayed, that covers the comb and…

An escutcheon is a general term for a decorative plate used to conceal a functioning, non-architectural item. Escutcheon is an Old Norman word derived from the Latin word scutum, meaning…

Ebonising:  Ebonising is a process for darkening wood, giving it an appearance similar to ebony, hence the name. It is particularly used for pianos and fine furniture including music boxes.…

Maple Music Boxes. Some of the larger maple species have valuable timber, particularly Sugar maple in North America, and Sycamore maple in Europe. Sugar maple wood—often known as "hard maple"—is…

Burr. Burrs (burls in US) yield a very peculiar and highly figured wood, prized for its beauty and rarity. It is sought after by furniture makers, artists, and wood sculptors.…

Marquetry. Techniques of wood marquetry were developed in Antwerp and other Flemish centers of luxury cabinet-making during the early 16th century. The craft was imported full-blown to France after the…

Drums are  members of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or…

Bells Musical Movements. The earliest archaeological evidence of bells dates from the 3rd millennium BC, and is traced to the Yangshao culture of Neolithic China. Clapper-bells made of pottery have…

Cylinder Music Boxes. In the 9th century, in Baghdad, Iraq, the Banū Mūsā brothers, a trio of Persian inventors, produced "the earliest known mechanical musical instrument", in this case a…