Mandoline Cylinder Music Box: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This music box was made by an undetermined maker in St. Croix, Switzerland, around 1865-1875. It is a mandolin cylinder music box, with 6 tunes. The music box has a two-piece comb with 102 teeth on each piece (total 204). The cylinder is 21-13/16" long. The music box is activated by a lever wound spring. Engraved on the comb:

6 AIRS 20-1/2 pouces 36 lignes - MANDOLINE QUATUOR EXPRESSIVE - ACCORD PARFAIT STE CROIX (SUISSE)

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: 1865-1875
• unspecified: James, Mrs. Julian
• Object Name: music box
• Physical Description: wood (overall material)
• Physical Description: metal (overall material)
• Measurements: overall: music box on table without legs: 13 3/4 in x 39 1/2 in x 20 1/2 in; 34.925 cm x 100.33 cm x 52.07 cm
• Measurements: overall: leg: 26 in x 3 3/4 in; 66.04 cm x 9.525 cm
• place made: Switzerland
• ID Number: MI.325977
• accession number: 70862
• catalog number: 325977
• Credit Line: Julian-James Collection
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.