Longer cylinders could be pinned for multiple tunes and adjusted laterally to switch between songs. A few years later, Francois Nicole, of the famous Nicole Frères firm, created a steel hairspring damper to soften the ring of each note, and the modern music box was born. However, it wasn’t until 1875 that the first music box factory was opened by the Paillard company in St. Croix, Switzerland. Previously, all music boxes were produced through smaller cottage-industry operations using the skills of different craftspeople to assemble a complete product. These early musical contraptions were an expensive luxury item favored by the aristocracy, primarily playing hymns and operatic songs. 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.
Selected Products
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Gisela Graham Music Box
Music Box Table
Dancing Music Box
Kikkerland Music Box
Music Box Guitar
Carousel Horse Music Box
Roxy Music Box Set
Music Box Duck
Music Box Picture
Music Box Claire De Lune
Music Box Mini
Music Box Ode To Joy
Music Box Moonlight Sonata
Music Box Maker
Music Duke Box
Music Box Usb
San Francisco Music Box Company
Music Box Pitty Party
Music Box Jewelry Box For Women
Music Boxes Schmid
Music Box Giraffe
Music Box Noahs Ark
Music Box Playing You Are My Sunshine
Music Box Vienna
Music Box Repair
Music Box Mechanism Comb
Music Box World
Music Box Boys
Davy Jones Music Box
Japanese Music Jewelry Box
Music Box Necklace
Music Box Phantom Of The Opera
Disney Music Box
Antique Music Box Pre 1900
Music Box Wedding
Tallent Old Bond Street Music Box