Antique music boxes are one of the most magical machines of the ages. Music boxes date from the 1800’s to the early 1900’s. Few antiques can stimulate and delight the senses the way a melodious music box does when it begins to play.
Three Types of Music Boxes
Cylinder type
The cylinder type music box usually has only one cylinder that is non removable and plays multiple tunes by shifting the cylinder sideways to engage a separate set of pins to play from 2-12 tunes. Some of the more expensive ones also had removable interchangeable cylinders to get even more variety.
Some cylinder music boxes added bells, a drum, castanet and or an organ to make them more interesting.
Disc type
The Disc type music box can either be the tabletop, console, upright or automatic changer style music box. The tabletop model usually can sit on top of a table or may come with a stand that matches the music box. The console style stands on the floor and usually has space in the bottom section for the storage of extra discs. The upright variety has the disc mounted vertically and may also have a stand that goes under it for
disc storage.
Automatic Changer Style
Finally the automatic changer style holds up to 12 discs and changes them automatically like a jukebox. The discs can be selected and then played at will.
A few cylinder and some disc type music boxes can be found with or without a coin-operated mechanism that takes a penny or a nickel. The coin operated styles were used in commercial establishments.