The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Anyone on the forum collect Music Boxes? Would like to talk to anyone who collects Music Boxes so email so I can give you a call but will need your phone number. In USA only. Need some info about a Music Box.

Larry

Can you be a bit more specific please regarding type or brand? You might have better luck getting help that way.
Bob

Thanks Bob. Looking for info on a small Symphonion Music box. It is a hand crank comes with no spring. Has interchangeable disks. 5 ¾" disks. Just never have seen one before that looks like a regular music box and not for kids.

Larry

Well they say you learn something new every day. I've never heard of a hand powered model before, and thought they all had clockwork motors.
Time to hit google I guess

Took some pics. Any more help I would appreciate.

Larry

It appears you have a German Symphonion "Brevete".
They were obviously a low-end Symphonion, BUT this & a Model 28 were the only 2 top-wind/hand driven Symphonion models I could find (so far), so they must be something of a rarity amoung the many zillions of spring driven boxes. Your Brevete is far more decorative than the 28, which simply has Symphonion written across the lid.
I also found one Regina model that was very similar, but again there's very little on the net about these hand crankers.
If no-one here can help, it might be worth checking out the "Mechanical Music Digest" & doing a search of the archives for your model. I found heaps of info there a couple weeks ago for my Aeolian pianola.

http://www.mmdigest.com/Home


** Now that I've repeated the search using Symphonion Brevete, I'm get a lot more hits, but mostly for dead ebay links etc, and no actual information about the model
Of course, it might help if I spoke German lol.

This just keeps getting better
There is also another "Syphonion Brevete Patent" model, with a different lid decal, and a lever wound mechanism. A later updated model perhaps??

Gramophoneshane Thank You!! for your help on this subject.

Larry

You are confusing the term "brevete" with a possible name of the Symphonion model. "Brevete" means "patented."