"I thought it only had a music box in it but it apparently it also has an organ, a zither and a miniature Tom Waits serenading in his trademark raspy voice about being a drunken vagabond in the streets of Europe. Remarkable! Simply Remarkable!"-ThePianoForever.

Music starts at 9:10 ...

An extraordinary musical instrument which can only be described as incredible mechanical art of the highest order. Thanks so much for sharing - I really enjoyed hearing it.

@ThePianoforever

5 жыл бұрын

Mechanical art - I like that! Definitely incredible and really unique.

What an extraordinary instrument! The artistry, the craftsmanship, the attention to details to make this stunningly beautiful work of art. It's a masterpiece! I'm glad it was restored and it is still in working order for everyone to enjoy! Thank you for a wonderful presentation!

@zahrasmith4101

2 жыл бұрын

I agree

What a beautiful box! I recently got the chance to listen to one of these in an antique shop. The sound filled the room! Thank you for the video.

Such an amazing music box! Thank you so much for posting so many wonderful videos, I love watching them and the variety of instruments you feature. 😺

I love music boxes. They are the most amazing mechanical musical instruments ever made & invented by Antoine Favre Salomon.

Love old music boxes. Thanks for sharing.

Wow. What an fantastic find James. I don't think I have ever seen such a sophisticated music box and one so beautifully made too. Thanks for sharing this.

@ThePianoforever

5 жыл бұрын

I never have either, it's really cool.

Lest we think we know a lot these days, thank you for showing us what creative musicians and craftsmen working together 120 years ago could build for the love of music.

rare and touches the soul....a beautiful piece

What a beautiful piece of various craftsman's art. Intricate and wonderful !

@ThePianoforever

5 жыл бұрын

It looked and sounded really amazing!

What a wonderful example of a Swiss orchestral music box with interchangeable cylinders! One can only imagine the work and skill required to put together the entire machine, including the case. The organ sounds really good on this box. I heard that a similar box, with matching table, was about $10,000.00, in actual 1900 dollars, so these were only found in very wealthy homes. You hit a home run with this video. Thanks and keep up the great work!

Truly a fabulous find. Artistry and craftsmanship combined. I wonder how it was used in its day. Would it be playing in the background as people went about their domestic business, or was it so special that they would gather round to listen and enjoy? Any chance that some day you might do a video on how those rolls would have been made? It boggles the mind (mine, anyway) to imagine how the music was translated into little, precisely placed spikes that could reproduce the music.

Yet another captivating find!

I just found your channel a few weeks ago, and I simply love it. What a beautiful instrument.

@ThePianoforever

4 жыл бұрын

Nice to have you as a regular visitor.

@Splash-nr8ot

4 жыл бұрын

@@ThePianoforever Thanks. Looking forward :)

Beautiful, magical !

exquisite sound from the music box

the super fine craftsmanship in making these great instruments, both the classic style acoustic ones as well as the super modern digital ones is probably what attracts most of us to them, aside from the beautiful music that can be played on or by them ...

Nice Seeburg style H orchestrion in the background! That one is literally my favorite of all automated instruments!

@ThePianoforever

5 жыл бұрын

Stay tuned!

Wow James, that is one grand music box. I have always loved music boxes but of course none this size. Thanks for the great explanation of how it operates. A wonderful video. Regards, Carol

@ThePianoforever

5 жыл бұрын

Thank you.

I own a 1860 Swiss music box with 18 steel records I sold in 1982 for $1800; it cost $60 in 1930

i am always amazed at the craftmanship used back then.

Wow fantastic !!!

That's amazing.

What a find James, truely remarkable that it is all still together and complete, that heavy drawer of rolls must be such a rare find. i wonder whom the owner was when it was first made. The only one thing that seemed to let it down did you think that the bells were a little out of sync some of the time ? Very enjoyable thank you James.

Wow! You're finding some awesome (and very rare) instruments these days!

@ThePianoforever

5 жыл бұрын

I search the country looking for the most interesting instruments ever made. I am presently on the west coast looking for treasures.

wow this is awesome

how hauntingly wonderful

Think of this as a computer - the rolls (cylinders) have a digital software program each with 8 tracks, the tuned comb is the hardware. The surface of a CD is on the same principle but instead of steel pins as a program there are pits in the surface which read the disc with a laser. There are a lot of music boxes around on YT but not many are so impressive as this.

Wow! what a find!

@ThePianoforever

5 жыл бұрын

I agree, it's really cool!

It would be next to impossible not to love the sound of a music box. Sometime when you get a chance to James, check out Porter Music Box Co. (I have no affiliation or connection with this business at all.) I was introduced to their deeply rich sounding music boxes many years ago at my grandparent's house. The sound is so lush it can fill the house. Great video (as always) and helps nourish the gray matter (which is more than can be said for a lot of videos these days).

The purplish-red wood is probably Purpleheart. It is a from one of several species of hardwood trees that grow in the forests of Southern Mexico through a large part of South America. It used to be a very popular wood for fine furniture, but it is a slow growing tree that was over-harvested so the wood has now become very expensive.

wow, very cool

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Cool. What is the name of the song?

@ThePianoforever

5 жыл бұрын

I don't know.

@dantep4966

4 жыл бұрын

The Last Rose of Summer. Iconic tune popular from the 1800s-1920

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More, More, More! The box can play 36 different songs. Please create a new video with more of them. Try to mic it nicely so that the organ and the bells don't totally overpower the music box part.

That would have been considered high tech in its day.

Ah...the last rose of summer...

I think that they maybe called cylinders.

Am I permitted to say the obvious? I want one, there.

Wonder how old is it

@ThePianoforever

4 жыл бұрын

I think it was about one hundred years old.

it is ab bit slow.... could be the arrangement or no winding :-)

Even then they had to lock up there stuff

Mechanical way better