Music box - 1850-1900

an antique cylinder music box, an automatic mechanical device from the 19th or early 20th century that produces music by vibrating metal reeds. Here's how it works and what its main components are: Mechanism Components The Cylinder (Rullo): It is a brass tube studded with small protruding pins. As it turns, the pins lift and release the metal reeds following a precise sequence (the musical score). The Comb (Pettine): It is the steel structure with teeth (reeds) of different lengths. Each tooth is tuned to a specific musical note: the longer ones produce lower notes, the shorter ones higher notes. The Drive Group (Goffratura e Ingranaggi): On the left you can see the barrel that houses the mainspring (key-wound) and the set of gears that regulate the cylinder’s rotation speed to keep constant time. This original label (referred to in jargon as tune card or sheet of tunes) is an exceptional find because it allows dating the carillon with absolute precision around 1899–1900. At the top it bears the inscription "3 airs" (3 tunes/motifs), indicating that the drum is programmed to reproduce three distinct melodies during its complete rotation. Here is the transcription and the history of the handwritten tunes on the label: The Tunes in List The Absent-Minded Beggar History: This is a famous British patriotic song composed in November 1899 by Sir Arthur Sullivan (famous for the Gilbert & Sullivan duo) to a poem by Rudyard Kipling (The Jungle Book). It was written to raise funds for the soldiers who were sent to fight in the Second Boer War and for their families. It became a planetary instant hit between 1899 and 1900. Runaway Girl. Soldiers in the Park History: "Soldiers in the Park" is the best‑known march and song taken from the Edwardian musical comedy A Runaway Girl, composed by Lionel Monckton and debuted in London for most of 1898. It remained extremely popular in the early 1900s. The Bells of New York (followed by a note that seems La belle...) History: Most likely refers to the main motifs of the famous musical comedy The Belle of New York (composed by Gustave Kerker), which premiered on Broadway in 1897 and achieved resounding success in London starting from 1898, remaining in repertoire for almost 700 performances. The loading spring system to be revised. Working