Before the iPod, Walkman, turntable, or phonograph there was the music box. Though it's hard to imagine it now, the music box was actually an important first step on the road to the miniaturization of sound. Prior to the music box, non-performed music was produced by large and bulky contraptions using bells or chimes. The music box brought melodies into the home and, eventually, rings, medallions, and even perfume bottles. Music boxes were also hidden within table-top snuff containers inlaid with gold, pearls, and ivory. The key to the music boxes' portability was a tuned steel comb, invented in 1796 by Antoine Favre in Switzerland’s clock-making region, La Vallée de Joux. The first steel combs were made from varying lengths of metal arranged in a curving fan-shape. As the pins on a rotating cylinder struck the teeth of the comb, notes were produced. Much like early musical clocks, these machines were spring-wound. In 1810, David LeCoultre, of the famous LeCoultre watch-making family, designed a brass cylinder to play notes on a straight length of tuned steel teeth. Longer cylinders could be pinned for multiple tunes and adjusted laterally to switch between songs.
Selected Products
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Music Box Oil
Music Box Edelweiss
Music Box Made In Italy
Music Box Crib
Music Box Davy Jones
Swiss Music Boxes
Music Box Personalised
Music Box Phantom Of The Opera
Music Box Daughter
Music Box Noahs Ark
Music Box Mp3
Music Box Amelie
Music Boxs
Cylinder Music Boxes
Music Box Paper
Music Box Kit Make Your Own
Music Box Jewelry Box For Women
Music Box Wedding
Music Box Anniversary Waltz
Music Box Turntable
Let Me Call You Sweetheart Music Box
Kaleidoscope Music Box
Sankyo Music Box
Music Box With Candle
Music Box For Babies
Music Box Strips
Tallent Old Bond Street Music Box
Music Box Owl On Branch
Music Box For Babies
72 Note Music Box
Music Box 3D
Music Box Youtang
Music Box Stella
Music Box Urn
Lena Liu Music Box
Music Box Women