What tunes played on late 19th century Swiss musical box?
September 11th, 2018
What tunes played on late 19th century Swiss musical box?
A SUPERB Swiss musical box from the late 19th century is coming up for auction in Lichfield.
The box by Mojon Manger & Co is in a rosewood, rosewood stained and ebonised case with inlaid details to the lid and a pull-out drawer to the base fitted with three additional interchangeable cylinders.
“The governor is stamped with the serial number 818 and MMC. It dates to circa 1890 and has the original card tune sheet to the inside of the lid listing three of the four cylinders’ six airs,” said senior valuer Sarah Leedham.
“The cylinders bear stamped serial numbers to make identification easy, these being 28916, 28917 and 28918.
“One cylinder includes popular tunes of the day by Gilbert & Sullivan, namely The Gondoliers and Yeoman of the Guard, which were both debuted in 1889.
“Another featured tune is Rossini’s William Tell but work by Strauss is also featured.”
The box is entered into Richard Winterton Auctioneers’ September 19 2018 Fine & Decorative Arts auction.
The estimate is £2,000 -£3,000 and viewing for the sale is on Saturday, September 15 from 9am to noon and Tuesday, September 18 from 10am-6pm.
For further details, please telephone 01543 251081 or email office@richardwinterton.co.uk.