$14,100
Full-Organ Harmonium Longue-Marche Intercheangable Musical Box, by B. A. Bremond , No. 19105, the governor-cock stamped BAB below lyre, with four cylinders playing ten airs each, forty keys, massive ratchet-wound double-spring motor with intermediate gear, engraved lyre-form tune indicator, tune selector lever, and sliding pin assembly to lock / release the cylinders, with tune-sheet listing two cylinders of choral and two of mainly operatic airs (including Martha, Aida, Oberon and Le Freychutz ), gilt maker's plaque and handwritten operating instructions, in rosewood case with mitred corners, tulipwood banding to front, sides, inner and outer lids, ormolu carrying handles with Greek Key motif, lid with inlaid lyre in pewter starburst cartouche, and front with architectural Gothic Revival design of organ pipes in embrasures flanked by female harpists in pewter, colored woods and enamels, on ebonized stand with turned legs, wd. 29 1/2 in., cylinders 8 x 3 1/2 in., housed in wood storage case. Provenance: Purchased by the vendor from Ruth Bornand, Pelham, New York. Few full-orchestral musical boxes were made by Bremond. This style of intricate Gothic inlay has been recorded on a handful of orchestral boxes by the same maker, including one in the Guinness Collection.
Auctioneer:
Skinner
Date:
2006-07-29