Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1878-08-14

AUGUST ii. 1873.
e MUSIC BOXES.
d The Places and Process Of their Nanr
n faoture---Ths Late improvements
q Hxtent Of the Trade.
From the Scientific American.
Musical boxes are made either i
: Sainte-Croix or Geneva, excepting fe,
! unimportant factories elsewhere. Th
greater part of those made in Saint<
Croix are sold under the name of Gene
va boxes, trusting to the name to Civ
greater prestige, as Sainte- Croix is sci
dom visited by travellers, although fully
equalling Geneva in the manufacture
Sainte Croix is also noted for the manu
facture of fine gold and silver watches
and many of them are sold in Genevs
under the name of Geneva watches. Ar
Il erroneous impression exists that Genevs
music boxes are superior to all others;
the truth is that both good and bad are
made in Geneva, and the same may be
said of Sainte-Croix; but a fact in favor
| IF the latter place is that the cost of liv-
ing being less than in Geneva, wages in
Sainte-Croi are In proportion, and
equally excellent instruments can be
manufactured there at less cost. The
most important factory at Hainte .Croix
is that of G. Paillard & Co., who make as
many boxes as all the other manufacture
ers combine d, and Of superior quality.
In this factory there are etn ployed about
800 expert artisans, aided by all modern
improvements in special tools and ma
chinery. Were it not for the advantages
they derive from division of labor
the firm employing separate set of
workmea exclusively in the production
of each part of the mechanism-it
would be impossible to have these instru-
ments made SO perfectly at prices 80 mod
crate; for the prices cannot justly be
termed high when the immense amount
of carefully executed and intricate work
is taken into consideration. One great
expense in this business is the changing
of airs in the boxes, discarding such as
have become tiresome, and substituting
the latest and most popular as fast as
they appear. However, the standard
airs which are always popular. such as
Home, Sweet HOme," 1.-THE Last Rose
Of Summer" ETC., are always retained.
They now send these instruments
throughout the entire world, their great
est markets ranking in the following or
der: England, the United States,
France, Germany, Russia. The instru-
ments play the favorite airs of each
country to which they are sent.
A musical box consists of q brass
roller with projecting points; q steel
comb, the teeth of which give the
sounds; spring to give the revolving
motion to the cylinder; and q fywheel
or fan, to regulate the revolving motion.
The rough parts, including the bedplate,
the bank roller, the handspring, the |
comb tempered but not tnned), the |
running gear, etc, are made in large |
machine shops and furnished to all the |
box manufacturers. The music has first |
to be arranged for the box by thorough
musical artists. The cylinder is then
given to q person Generally a woman)
who, with the aid Of the music and . I
very ingenious machine, marks the
places on the cylinder where the points
are to be inserted. Another person then
drills all the little holes, and still another
inserts the points. The cylinder is then
filed with molten cement, placed ON q
lathe, and revolved very quickly. The
cement adheres to the inside surface,
holding the points, and is then allowed
to cool, leaving the hole in the center
for the axis. On another machine the
points are filed down, 10 as to be of
equal length. During this time the
comb is given out to be tuned, the tuner
having first to file the teeth, to give the
proper fexibility. The tone is lowered
BY filing near the base, and sharpened
~ fling near the point. The cylinder
Ia then set on the bed plate. This last
operation demands great accuracy, 10
that the points of the cylinder and the
teeth of the comb will exactly meet.
The instrument is now placed ON am
)ther machine, which divides the bars
IN the same way a. the original machine
for marking, and person usually 9 wo-
many will then, according to the music, /
bend the points of the cylinder slightly
in order to secure more
strength, but more especially to make
he chords drop simultaneously, and
,ause the runs or roulades to be played
svenly. All the parts are then polished,
md the box is finally given to . man
who regulates the hampers and revises
Ill the parts There are also some fif-
een to twenty minor parts, which would
'cquire too much technicality to explain
% the general reader. Size increases
10th volume and richness of the tone.
A cylinder ten inches long can be made
70 play six, eight, ten or twelve airs
we'll, bat, OF course, will play six or eight
lirs better and with more sweetness
md harmony than great number. The
reason of this is that more points on q
CYLINDER and more teeth ON q comb can
be used for fewer airs. If box plays
twelve airs the teeth in the comb viii be
twice as far apart ~ ii it played only
nix airs. The space between the teeth
increases with the number of airs. II the
diameter of the cylinder be increased the
airs will, of course, Be prolonged. The
boxes does not differ very materially in
method.
At the beginning of the present GEN.
tury the best boxes played only one or
Two airs and boxes which then cold for
e26 now sell for 45. The bells, drums
and castanets have been made for music
Al boxes for the past forty years, but
were placed underneath and
hidden from view; they are now placed
In sight, and producing very pleasing
effect. The celestial voice, which require
bellows and reeds, were first placed in
he musical boxes about eighteen ye&rs
ago. The earlier specimens Of this kind
we're thought very remarkable, but they
we're very inferior to the improved boxes
# the present time. Originally musical
,0xes we're made with only one cylinder, +
,ut about twelve years ago II was fsst
thought possible to make them with
'xtra cylinders thus increasing the W
'iety Of tunes. The cylinders can easily |
,e changed By any one, and such boxes
- ,oss In ,rrsaf dapnand T,hn r,,aunka L,