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
MBSGB
PO Box 373
Welwyn
Herts
AL6 0WY

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.
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.
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.
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.
Cylinder

Note the length and diameter of the cylinder in cm.
Comb

If you can, please count the number of teeth in the comb(s). e.g. Forte comb 67 teeth, Piano comb 35 teeth.

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.
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."
Finally!

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.
   

Copyright © 2004 - The Musical Box Society of Great Britain
Most Recent Update: January 2011