4/82 Petites Musique 'Fortissimo' by Chevob & Co. late Baker - Troll & Co.
Serial no. 22403 circa 1905/6
Bought via eBay in January 2025
A very rare large nickel plated Petites Musique (22 x 15 x 9cm) with an almost pristine tune sheet by a well known maker contained within a beautiful rosewood case with quartered veneer lid with brass edge and string. Note the £2 coin to give an idea of scale.
Rarely, this box has real provenance as it was bought by German born Industrialist, Albert Vollmer just before 1910 when he visited Switzerland with his wife. Albert ran Kockrum's enamel factory at Ronneby in Sweden from shortly after it was founded in 1893 until he retired to Dresden in 1921. The factory produced enamelled products for hospitals all around the world.
The box was handed down to his son, Hans Vollmer, and subsequently to his grandson Dick Vollmer. Unfortunately none of Dick's offspring had a desire to inherit the box and so it was put up for auction. Lucky me!
See it in the workshop
See 4/72 Fortissimo by G Baker-Troll. Much smaller but also with a Nickel plated movement.
A very rare large nickel plated Petites Musique (22 x 15 x 9cm) with an almost pristine tune sheet by a well known maker contained within a beautiful rosewood case with quartered veneer lid with brass edge and string. Note the £2 coin to give an idea of scale.
Rarely, this box has real provenance as it was bought by German born Industrialist, Albert Vollmer just before 1910 when he visited Switzerland with his wife. Albert ran Kockrum's enamel factory at Ronneby in Sweden from shortly after it was founded in 1893 until he retired to Dresden in 1921. The factory produced enamelled products for hospitals all around the world.
The box was handed down to his son, Hans Vollmer, and subsequently to his grandson Dick Vollmer. Unfortunately none of Dick's offspring had a desire to inherit the box and so it was put up for auction. Lucky me!
See it in the workshop
See 4/72 Fortissimo by G Baker-Troll. Much smaller but also with a Nickel plated movement.
I've discovered that there is another, almost identical "Fortissimo' box belonging to a collector in the United States. He published an article in the MBSI's Mechanical Music journal in 2010. Click here to read it. Other than two of the tunes being different it is identical.
Tunes:
1. La Veuve Joyeuse. The Merry Widow from the Operetta by the Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. He based the story - concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt to keep her money in the principality by finding her the right husband – on an 1861 comedy play, L'attaché d'ambassade (The Embassy Attaché) by Henri Meilhac.
2. Sérénade Angélique (1896) A "Serenata" (serenade) by Gaetano Braga, sometimes called "Angel's Serenade" or "Légende valaque" is a dialogue between a worried mother and a girl who hears an angel's voice calling her; in the end the girl follows the voice ("O mamma buona notte, io seguo il suon, io seguo il suon!"). It is mentioned in Anton Chekhov's short story "The Black Monk," as well as in other Russian works of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As composed, the narrator sings the voice of the mother and girl, while the angel's voice is portrayed through the violin or cello.
3. Carmen "Habanera". Carmen is an opera in for parts by the French Composer, Georges Bizet, first performed in Paris on 3rd March 1875. It has since become one of the most popular and frequently performed Operas in the classical canon; the Habanera and Seguidilla from Act 1 and the Toreador Song from Act 2 are among the best knows of all operatic arias.
4. Lohengrin - Bridal Chorus is a romantic opera in three acts composed and written by Richard Wagner and first performed in 1850. The most popular and recognisable part is The Bridal Chorus, colloquially known in English speaking countries as "Here Comes the Bride".
2. Sérénade Angélique (1896) A "Serenata" (serenade) by Gaetano Braga, sometimes called "Angel's Serenade" or "Légende valaque" is a dialogue between a worried mother and a girl who hears an angel's voice calling her; in the end the girl follows the voice ("O mamma buona notte, io seguo il suon, io seguo il suon!"). It is mentioned in Anton Chekhov's short story "The Black Monk," as well as in other Russian works of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As composed, the narrator sings the voice of the mother and girl, while the angel's voice is portrayed through the violin or cello.
3. Carmen "Habanera". Carmen is an opera in for parts by the French Composer, Georges Bizet, first performed in Paris on 3rd March 1875. It has since become one of the most popular and frequently performed Operas in the classical canon; the Habanera and Seguidilla from Act 1 and the Toreador Song from Act 2 are among the best knows of all operatic arias.
4. Lohengrin - Bridal Chorus is a romantic opera in three acts composed and written by Richard Wagner and first performed in 1850. The most popular and recognisable part is The Bridal Chorus, colloquially known in English speaking countries as "Here Comes the Bride".
Listen to all four tunes.