Later versions added mechanical automata to their complex musical tunes for increasingly magical effects. By the late 1800s, music boxes were built with removable cylinders whose tunes could be changed by replacing specially designed drawers. Finally, in 1885, Paul Lochmann created a music box called the “Symphonion” using a flat metal disc that rotated on a turntable. These metal discs could be easily swapped out, much like a vinyl record. Pop music was suddenly affordable and immediately accessible; within weeks of a Broadway show’s debut, its most memorable musical themes were available on music-box discs. Gustave Brachhausen, foreman of the Lochmann firm, split with the company and created his own business manufacturing the “Polyphon,” perhaps the most famous disc-operated music box. In 1892, Brachhausen moved to the United States where he opened the Regina Music Box Company in Jersey City, New Jersey. Though Regina produced its own mechanical works, Brachhausen still imported discs from the Polyphon factory in Leipzig. Regina’s immediate success allowed the company to move into a larger factory space and begin producing its own musical discs by hiring additional staff from the best companies of Europe. Besides designing devices for home use, Regina created machines for public spaces which would play songs for a nickel. In 1897, Brachhaussen also developed a multi-disc musical device with an automated disc-changer, a predecessor to the jukebox.
Selected Products
-
Music Box Stella
Music Box Canon
Otagiri Music Box
Music Box Ghibli
Music Box Star Wars
Music Box Disk
Hummel Music Box
Christmas Music Boxes
Music Box Kids
Reuge Music Box Italy
Music Box Schmid
Music Box Piano
Music Box Movement Battery
Music Box With Light
Music Box Lighter
Music Box Jessica Lange
Music Box Glass
Anastasia Music Box
Music Box Phantom Of The Opera
Music Box Victrola
Music Box Jesus Loves Me
Fisher Price Music Box
Music Box Film
Fairy Music Box
Music Box Vienna
Music Box Crank
Swiss Music Boxes
Anastasia Music Box
Music Boxes For Women
Music Box Table
Music Box Anniversary Waltz
Music Box River Flows In You
Animated Music Box
Music Box Inserts
Music Box Jewelry Box For Women
Gisela Graham Music Box