Music boxes, as we know them, have been around at least since the end of the 18th century. They were the creations of the finest artisans in Europe and brought automatic music into the family home in an age when the only other music was that you played yourself. Musical boxes performed popular music from the world of opera, patriotic and traditional airs, hymns and, later, the songs of the music-hall. The industry started in Europe, flourishing in Switzerland and Germany before crossing the Atlantic to America where it faded away in the early 20th century. From the very early Swiss cylinder musical boxes to the great disc machines produced in New Jersey, the range of music available was vast.
This book is the definitive history of mechanical music and its instruments together with their related development and technology. It is comprehensively illustrated with diagrams of various types of musical-box mechanism, makers trade-marks and styles of tune-sheet. A major section represents the most extensive list of manufacturers published while there are also extensive lists of American and British patents, plus advice on how to form, display and maintain your collection. Many of the finest musical boxes ever produced are illustrated in full colour along with hundreds more in black and white.
Chapters include :
Mechanical Musical Instruments
The Birth of the Musical Box
Miniature Musical Movements
How Music Boxes Were Made
The Evolution of the Cylinder Musical Box
Cylindrical Musical Box Development and Repertoire
Styles and Types Classified
The Disc-Playing Musical Box
Classification of Disc/Musical Box Styles and Types
Survey of the Musical-Box Manufacturing Nations
Advice for Collectors
Conservation, Preservation, and Restoration
Index of Makers, Inventors, Vendors and Patentees
Additionally the Appendices cover:
Patents and Patentees of Musical Boxes
Musical Box Tune Sheets-a Guide to Identification
Musical Box Valuation.
Price: $64.50
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