Information and price guide to antique music boxes. A music box or musical box is an automatic musical instrument in a box that produces musical notes by using a set of pins placed on a revolving cylinder or disc 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 (French for “chimes of music”). Some of the more complex boxes also contain a tiny drum and/or bells in addition to the metal comb. Reference: Wikipedia
This category has information and price guides to many different kinds of music boxes, including novelty items, musical watches, clocks and furniture.
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…
Harp Music Boxes. Harp shaped music boxes are very collectible and make excellent gifts for musicians or for those who have just passed music exams. Below are some examples and…
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…
George Baker and Company were one of the leading makers of larger music boxes in Switzerland. In 1874 the company merged with Samuel Troll to become G. Baker-Troll & Co.…
Music Box Photograph Albums. A photographic album, or photo album, is a series of photographic prints collected by an individual person or family in the form of a book. Victorian…