Paillard & Cie Orchestra Cylinder Music Box: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This music box was made by Charles Paillard & Cie. in St. Croix, Switzerland, 1885. It is an Orchestra cylinder music box, serial #4830, with 10 tunes. This music box has a two-piece comb with 63 teeth (28 & 35), and 9 bells, a drum with 8 beaters, and a 36 note organ. The cylinder is 21-9/16" long. The music box is activated by 2 crank wound springs. Accessioned with a matching table (disassembled)

This music box was donated by E. F. Droop & Sons Co., a Washington, DC. piano, organ, musical instrument, sheet music, and music book dealer.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: 1885
• maker: Charles Paillard & Cie.
• Object Name: music box
• Object Name: music box and table
• Physical Description: wood (overall material)
• Physical Description: metal (overall material)
• Physical Description: glass (overall material)
• Measurements: overall: music box: 16 1/2 in x 42 in x 25 in; 41.91 cm x 106.68 cm x 63.5 cm
• Measurements: overall: table top: 1 1/4 in x 27 in x 44 in; 3.175 cm x 68.58 cm x 111.76 cm
• place made: Switzerland
• ID Number: MI.378894
• accession number: 145956
• catalog number: 378894
• Credit Line: Gift of E. F. Droop & Sons Co.
• 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.