10/69 Cartel by B.A. Bremond circa 1867
​Serial no. 12313, Gamme No. 600

Bought for a friend at auction unseen. On receipt, it was found to have a repaired bedplate and a missing tooth.
​The dampers all need work but the rest looked to be in good condition, including the pins.
​Lovely grained and geometric inlaid lid with brass quatrefoil in the centre.
​Good tunesheet.

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Initially we decided not to restore, but we've now decided to do a full restoration and see how it works out.
​The mechanism, although clean with no apparent damage, other than the broken tooth (which does not play so will not be repaired) was later found to have several bearings which had been re-bushed. The repair to the bedplate put other parts out of true and there was a lot of work to do on the dampers..
​This has been an expensive restoration for the owner and they will not get their money back if selling.

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Thursday 11th December
Dismantling. No missing or damaged parts

Steel all cleaned up, except for the comb washers which are chromed so need polishing.

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The repaired Bedplate

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Re-bushed bearings

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Polishing the brass

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Reassembly

Back from The Music Box Restorer. 
James found some issues with badly bushed bearings and damper pins missing, so additional work and cost.
There is still some work to do to the case.

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The Tunes

​1. Olga Valse (valse) - there are several possibilities ...
Famous waltz for piano by Pierre Max Dubois
The Olga, or Princess Waltz by Louise Antoine Jullien
Olga's (Waltz) a traditional Irish tune

​2. Auld Lang Syne
Traditionally sung to bid farewell to the old year at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve/Hogmanay. By extension, it is also often heard at funerals, graduations, and as a farewell or ending to other occasions; for instance, many branches of the Scouting movement use it to close jamborees and other functions. The text is a Scots-language poem written by Robert Burns in 1788 but based on an older Scottish folk song. In 1799, it was set to a traditional tune, which has since become standard.

​3. Guillaume Tell (Tyrolienne) by Gioachino Rossini premiered at Salle Le Peletier, Paris on 3rd August 1829
Sometimes known as The Green Hills of Tyrol or The Scottish Soldier (as sung by Andy Stewart)

​4. The Storm (Galop) from Gioachino Rossini's opera Guillaume Tell which premiered at Salle Le Peletier, Paris on 3rd August 1829. This is likely to be from the second of the four movements in the overture. It is a dynamic piece in E minor, featuring the full orchestra, known for its frantic strings and dramatic brass outbursts that mimic a storm in the Swiss Alps.

​5. Home Sweet Home
This is an American Civil War song, originally an opera called Clari, or "The Maid of Milan". The lyrics were written by John Howard Payne and set to music composed by Sir Henry Bishop in 1823.

​6. Don Pasquale (un foco insolito) is from a comic opera by Gaetano Donizetti which premiered at the Théâtre Italian, Paris on 3rd January 1843. This piece is from the first act and translated "un foco insolito" means "A sudden fire"

​7. Norma (mira a Norma) is from an opera by Vincenzo Bellini which premiered in the Teatro all Scala, Milan on 26th December 1831. "Mira a Norma" ("Look o Norma") and is a duet from the second act.

​8. Martha (Romance) is from a romantic comic opera by Fredrich von Flotow which first premiered at Kärntnertortheatre, Vienna on 25th November 1847. 

​9. Les Vêpres Siciliennes (sainte ancour de) is from a grand opera by Guiseppe Verdi which premiered at The Paris Opera on 13th June 1855.

​10. I Puritani (Il te a cora) is from an opera by Gioachino Rossini which premiered at Théâtre Italian, Paris on 24th January 1835.