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. 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.
Selected Products
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Music Box Egg
Music Box Baby
Music Box Eidelweiss
Ice Cream Music Box
Music Box Piano
Music Box Bust
Swan Lake Music Box
Music Box 3D
Music Box Lullaby
Music Box Always With Me
Music Box Spirited Away
Music Box For Children
Music Box Stella
Music Box Make Your Own
Personalised Music Box
Music Box Harry Potter
Music Box Ornament
Music Box I Want To Hold Your Hand
Music Box Up
Music Box Religious
Music Box Mr Christmas
Music Box Baby
Kaleidoscope Music Box
Kaleidoscope Music Box
Music Box Snow Globe
Music Box Dancer Jewelry Box
Wizard Of Oz Music Box
Music Box Paper
Wizard Of Oz Music Box
Studio Ghibli Music Box
Music Box I Want To Hold Your Hand
Music Box Make Your Own
Japanese Music Box
Music Box Cat
Music Box Antique
Irish Music Box