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The Musical Box Society of Great Britain maintains
a register of cylinder musical boxes. This has many advantages to
musical box owners whether they own one box or have a large collection.
The information is entirely anonymous, the only time your address
will be used is to notify you that your instruments have been registered
and to give each box an individual register number. This number
should be written on the underside of the case as proof of ownership
should it be stolen and later recovered by the police.
Apart from theft there are other advantages of the
register: From the information we can gather from serial numbers,
Gamme numbers and the tune titles (if the box has a tune sheet)
we are often able to ascertain when the musical box was manufactured.
There are over 5,000 musical boxes registered with
the society. If you would like yours to be added and receive your
individual register numbers, please print out the following form
and return it to the address on the form, this is not where the
register is maintained but the information will be forwarded for
you. Do not worry if you do not have all the information, just include
what you can discover.
Send the completed form to: The Registrar, c/o 5
East Bight, Lincoln LN2 1QH England
The form has been supplied as a word document and
as a pdf file or an online form below.
Word file - click to download
pdf file - click to download
| Name
section |
State the makers' name only if you are sure it is correct.
In all other cases state "Unknown".
Opinions as to the possible maker may be expressed in the
comments section.
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| Serial
Number |
Usually found on the movement or on the tune card. Other
numbers may be present. These should be noted in the comments
section.
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| Gamme
Number |
Sometimes noted on the tune card (as in the case of Nicole.)
Often scribed on the lead of the bass tooth. If it cannot
be found leave this section blank.
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| Type |
List here if the box has any extra features. e.g. Mandolin
Piccolo, Forte-piano, Organ box, Sublime Harmony, etc. List
if the box is key, lever, ratchet or crank winding.
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| Cylinder |
Note the length and diameter of the cylinder in cm.
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| Comb |
If you can, please count the number of teeth in the comb(s).
e.g. Forte comb 67 teeth, Piano comb 35 teeth.
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| Tune
Card |
List the tunes if possible. If you are not sure of spellings
please have a try. I may be able to decipher by comparing
to the thousands of tunes already noted on the Register. State
if the tune card is missing, noting any tunes that can be
recognised.
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| Comments |
This is the place to note general features about the box,
including the size of the case. Note also anything unusual
about the box. A description of the inlay can be useful. An
example of a very useful entry is given below.
Grained case with drop flap. Rosewood lid with inlay of
leaves & flowers within a central ebony cartouche. 3 lines
of stringing. Case 42 x 15 x 10 cm. Inner glass lid. 2 spring
motors. S/N under base board + pencil message, "To Evelyn
from her loving Mother. July 14th 1888."
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| Finally!
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Please give as much information as you can. Apart from the
security aspect, all this information will assist in research
and the compilation of the Register. Include a note giving
your name and address so that a copy of the Register and the
unique Register number can be returned to you. For security
reasons, any photograph(s) published by the Society will not
normally be accredited.
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