An early Swiss key-wound two per turn cylinder music box, Epee, circa 1845

Description

Two per turn

The mechanism is numbered 4717 and is driven by a spring barrel that is wound by means of a key, which is characteristic of early music boxes. It plays one of twelve melodies with a 27-cm wide pinned cylinder on a steel comb. Because the cylinder is extra thick, it can play two melodies per revolution. Hence the term “two per turn”. The cylinder therefore only needs to shift six times to enable twelve melodies. This ensures that the comb can remain finely toothed, allowing many notes to be played and maintaining the quality of the music. The mechanism has three operating levers. The front one is for stopping the music immediately. The middle one is for starting and stopping the music (at the end of the melody). The rear lever is for repeating or changing the melodies.

Walnut

The unadorned box is made of walnut wood. On the left-hand side is a flap behind which the operating levers and winding arbour are located. On the right-hand side is a compartment for storing the winding key.