This is an absolutely beautiful, and very rare 19th century Stella Music Box (case only), with carved oak leaf & acorn front panel, 20 x 3 drawer, and full size hinged locking lid with brass skeleton key. It would have once housed a dual comb music player made by the Swiss company Mermod Freres, specifically their #4320 musical disc player, which played 17 1/4 discs. It is made of solid mahogany wood with brass hardware, including brass drawer pulls, escutcheon, and hinges. It is a very nice and rich dark cherry color, with a beautiful wood-grain. The name “Stella” is painted on the underside of the lid in gold lettering which is nice and crisp. The finish is very nice, showing only very minor nicks and a few blemishes with the finish. A fresh coat of varnish would address most issues with respect to condition. Music boxes were invented in 1796, and by the late 1800s at the peak of their popularity, many European manufacturers had factories in the United States, however the Stella Music Box remained made in Switzerland. Being that they were a Swiss watchmaker prior to entering the music box industry, everything they made was impressive, the #4320 model in particular being quite a feat of engineering for the time, so all That was needed was an equally impressive box to house it. I believe it to be all original, and it is all nicely intact with no broken, replaced or missing pieces, except for the obvious missing piece being the music player itself. There is a round hole on the right side, just about dead center, which has a piece of cork in place of where the handcrank would go. Overall I would say it is in excellent condition, especially for its age, however there are 2 thin splits from either end of the lid panel that nearly meet in the middle below the first L, but they are fairly minor. The panel is still very firmly in place, and there is zero movement resulting from the splits. This is the only blemish of any real substance, as overall it is in magnificent shape for a 120+ year old wooden box, and I do not believe it has undergone any repairs, restorations, or refinishes. It is very solidly constructed, and this could be seen fairly well by looking at the picture I included of the underside. It opens and closes smoothly, hinges are tight, no squeaks, and the brass lid guide appears as though it has never been bent. The drawer opens and closes smoothly, but sticks just a little bit when its pulled nearly all the way out. The middle and rear drawer bottom pieces are not fastened, and the rear piece is not stained and varnished as the other two are, but all pieces fit together nicely, and my guess is that they are all original. Whether this lovely wooden box lives on as it was originally intended, and becomes a replacement case for a music player whose original case has seen better days, or it spends the next 125 years as one of the nicest wooden boxes to hold bread, it is a fantastic piece of history, and will surely be admired. It measures 29 wide x 22 deep x 13 tall. Interior dimensions are 24 7/8 x 17 3/4 x 8 3/8. Total with lid fully upright is 32 3/4. Total weight is approximately 32 pounds, however it was a little bit too big for my scale to get a more accurate read. The inside is unfinished below the 4 mark, and there are 3 screw holes on both the left and right side that are about 4 5/8 up from the bottom. These holes are not visible from the outside, appearing to go approximately halfway through the sidewalls. Please view all pictures closely and carefully, as they represent a large part of this description. Although it is in very good to excellent condition, it is 125 +/- years old, therefore it is not perfect. I try to mention all flaws, as well including them among the pictures, although it is possible that I may have missed something. It also likely that you may need to zoom in to see them more clearly. If there are any concerns as it pertains to the condition, have any questions about any potential problem areas, or if you just have general questions, please message me and I will be happy to provide more information and/or additional pictures ASAP. Thank you very much for your consideration! The item “Antique 19th Century Stella Music Box With Key Mahogany Carved Mermod Freres” is in sale since Saturday, July 18, 2020. This item is in the category “Collectibles\Decorative Collectibles\Music Boxes\Pre-1900″. The seller is “tjl1_9940″ and is located in Concord, New Hampshire. This item can be shipped to United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Denmark, Romania, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Czech republic, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Estonia, Australia, Greece, Portugal, Cyprus, Slovenia, Japan, China, Sweden, South Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan, South africa, Thailand, Belgium, France, Hong Kong, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Bahamas, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, Saudi arabia, United arab emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Croatia, Malaysia, Chile, Colombia, Costa rica, Panama, Trinidad and tobago, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Antigua and barbuda, Aruba, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Saint kitts and nevis, Saint lucia, Turks and caicos islands, Barbados, Bangladesh, Bermuda, Brunei darussalam, Bolivia, Egypt, French guiana, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Guadeloupe, Iceland, Jersey, Jordan, Cambodia, Cayman islands, Liechtenstein, Sri lanka, Luxembourg, Monaco, Macao, Martinique, Maldives, Nicaragua, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Reunion, Uruguay.
- Brand: Stella By Mermod Freres
- Modified Item: Yes
- Time Period Manufactured: Pre-1900
- Country/Region of Manufacture: Switzerland
- Modification Description: Case Only, Does Not Include Music Player
- Handmade: Yes