$39,950
Fine Grand Format Piano Forte Musical Box by Nicole Frères, No. 32030, playing four overtures (Barbier du Seville, Don Giovani, Somnambula and Prè aux Clercs ), Gamme No. 1362, the brass bedplate stamped Nicole Frères a Geneve and both combs Nicole Frères , with lever wind, three-winged governor and silvered tune programme engraved for T. Cox, Savory & Co., 54 Cornhill, London , in brass-strung rosewood veneered case with canted corners and plinth feet, inlaid to front and lid with geometric design of foliate-engraved pierced brass scrolls, flowers, mother-of-pearl, tortoiseshell-red, pink and pale blue enamel, wd. 29 in., cylinder 16 3/4 x 4 in. dia. Note: In addition to the piano-forte arrangement, there are small groups of mandoline teeth (3-6) throughout the main comb. The two combs contain approx. 240 teeth, and tunes are pinned to play for just under three minutes. Movement and case are in excellent restored condition, with five teeth replaced in the piano comb and approx. two tips in the main comb. The musical box dates from c. 1854, with Ferdinand Herold's Prè aux Clercs , first performed in 1832, the most contemporary overture on its programme. Nicole Frères No. 32301 (a grand format with identical arrangement to the one offered here) also carries the name of Cox, Savory & Co., as do several other high quality Nicole boxes, and the company appears to have been the premier retailer of grand formats during the late 1840s and 1850s.
Auctioneer:
Skinner
Date:
2004-09-11
