SWISS RAILWAY STATION MUSIC BOX WITH DANCING DOLLS. Ladies and gentlemen, you have arrived just in time to catch the show. You have just had the pleasure of viewing an original musical automaton, found in virtually every Swiss railway station from the 1890’s to the 1950’s. They were used to entertain children (and adults too) in the waiting rooms, and were revenue-sharing devices leased to the Swiss Railway by such entrepreneurs as Henri Vidoudez and Auguste Lasseur. They incorporated music boxes made in St. Croix to their custom-made station boxes, and once placed in service, they provided all the maintenance, and, of course, emptying the coin boxes. The music box itself utilizes a 14″ nickeled cylinder, playing 10 tunes on a Sublime Harmonie format, with “zither for tone modulation. It is driven by a double-spring motor, wound out the side by a large crank. There is a tune indicator to tell the listener which # is playing. The coin-op mechanism works on an American penny, and when a coin is dropped in there is a light inside that automatically activates and the music begins to play – two songs for each coin. The original casework measures 29″ wide x 17″ deep x 34 high. There is the “orchestra”, consisting of 6 rosette-topped bells with butterfly strikers, and an 6-beater drum. The piece-de-resistance, of course, is the duo of lovely ladies dancing and twirling to the music. They actually pirouette on their feet, which are articulated and, due to a very slight difference in length, allow the dolls to spin around as they go up and down. Being over 130 years old, this has had some replacements over the years, such as the pediment and curtain. But otherwise it is very much as it was way back when, and delightful in every respect. We are a leading world-wide dealer and specialist in mechanical music, clocks and phonographs and stand by what we sell 100%. Musical Treasures of Miami. 2940 West Lake Vista Circle, Davie, FL 33328. Antique Music Boxes – Clocks – Phonographs. The item “COIN-OP SWISS RAILWAY STATION MUSIC BOX AUTOMATON WITH DANCING DOLLS” is in sale since Friday, November 29, 2019. This item is in the category “Collectibles\Decorative Collectibles\Music Boxes\Pre-1900″. The seller is “musicaltreasuresofmiami” and is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This item can be shipped worldwide.

• Country/Region of Manufacture: Switzerland