This is a lovely antique Swiss 8 air cylinder music box with six bells in view, manufactured in Switzerland and retailed by Herbert's Supply Stores, Eton, circa 1890 in date. The case has been accomplished in rosewood with kingswood crossbanding and beautiful decorative floral marquetry. The box plays eight airs/tunes which are named on the original music sheet attached to the inside of the lid with the reference number: 10469. This music box plays the following tunes: Visibles Bells 1. Gillette de Narbonne duo (Valse) - Audran 2. Bric a Brac ( Polka ) - Coote 3. Les cloches de Corneville - ( Valse) - Planquette 4. La fille du tambour ( Major ) - Offenbach 5. The pirates of Penzance - Sullivan 6. Patience ( Duet ) - Sullivan 7. Rip Van Winkle ( Polka ) - Planquette 8. La fille de Madame Angot ( Marche ) - Lecocq Play the video below to hear the music box playing. It is a lovely object which apart from from being very decorative is also very entertaining. Condition: It has been beautifully restored and is in perfect working order. Dimensions in cm: Height 25 x Width 52 x Depth 30 Dimensions in inches: Height 10 inches x Width 1 foot, 8 inches x Depth 1 foot Music box (also musical box) is a 19th/20th century automatic musical instrument that produces sounds by the use of a set of pins placed on a revolving cylinder or disc so as to pluck the tuned teeth (or lamellae) of a steel comb. They were developed from musical snuff boxes of the 18th century and called carillons à musique. Some of the more complex boxes also have a tiny drum and/or small bells, in addition to the metal comb. For most of the 19th century, the bulk of music box production was concentrated in Switzerland, building upon a strong watchmaking tradition. The first music box factory was opened there in 1815 by Jérémie Recordon and Samuel Junod. There were also a few manufacturers in Bohemia and Germany. By the end of the 19th century, some of the European makers had opened factories in the United States. The cylinders were normally made of metal and powered by a spring. In some of the costlier models, the cylinders could be removed to change melodies, thanks to an invention by Paillard in 1862, which was perfected by Metert of Geneva in 1879. In some exceptional models, there were four springs, to provide continuous play for up to three hours. Herbert’s Supply Stores in Eton were established by William John Herbert. The stores were made of twenty four departments and held the Royal Warrant for Queen Victoria, the Empresses of Russia and Germany, and many minor royals from across Europe. Following a fire in 1896 the building was rebuilt. The business became Cullum's Garages during the mid 1920's. Rosewood is a rich warm reddish brown wood that has a distinct grain with dark brown and black outlining. One variety of Rosewood can vary significantly from another even though it is of the same species. These Rosewoods, native of India, South East Asia and Brazil, were dense and awkward to work with. It was renowned for quickly bluntening cutting tools and visibly darkening in colour when over prepared. The Brazilian species of Rosewood was by far the most beautifully figured and therefore it became the most sought after and rare. This was the wood of choice for the great box makers, David and Thomas Edwards who used it to veneer some of their finest pieces. Kingwood is a classic furniture wood, almost exclusively used for inlays on very fine furniture. Occasionally it is used in the solid for small items and turned work, including parts of billiard cues, e.g., those made by John Parris. It is brownish-purple with many fine darker stripes and occasional irregular swirls. Occasionally it contains pale streaks of a similar colour to sapwood. The wood is very dense and hard and can be brought to a spectacular finish. it turns well but due to its density and hardness can be difficult to work with hand tools. It also has a tendency to blunt the tools due to its abrasive properties. Marquetry is decorative artistry where pieces of material (such as wood, mother of pearl, pewter, brass silver or shell) of different colours are inserted into surface wood veneer to form intricate patterns such as scrolls or flowers. The technique of veneered marquetry had its inspiration in 16th century Florence. Marquetry elaborated upon Florentine techniques of inlaying solid marble slabs with designs formed of fitted marbles, jaspers and semi-precious stones. This work, called opere di commessi, has medieval parallels in Central Italian "Cosmati"-work of inlaid marble floors, altars and columns. The technique is known in English as pietra dura, for the "hardstones" used: onyx, jasper, cornelian, lapis lazuli and colored marbles. In Florence, the Chapel of the Medici at San Lorenzo is completely covered in a colored marble facing using this demanding jig-sawn technique. Techniques of wood marquetry were developed in Antwerp and other Flemish centers of luxury cabinet-making during the early 16th century. The craft was imported full-blown to France after the mid-seventeenth century, to create furniture of unprecedented luxury being made at the royal manufactory of the Gobelins, charged with providing furnishings to decorate Versailles and the other royal residences of Louis XIV. Early masters of French marquetry were the Fleming Pierre Golle and his son-in-law, André-Charles Boulle, who founded a dynasty of royal and Parisian cabinet-makers (ébénistes) and gave his name to a technique of marquetry employing shell and brass with pewter in arabesque or intricately foliate designs. Our reference: 06248 Please feel free to email or call us (+44 20 8809 9605) to arrange a viewing in our North London warehouse. 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