8/88 Paillard, Vaucher et Fils

8/88 Paillard, Vaucher et Fils cartel circa 1884

Bought at auction in March 2022
The serial no. 1824 suggests that this box was made around 1884
Unfortunately the Tune Sheet is missing but with PVF Patent engraved on the Zither we can be confident of the maker. It may therefore be possible to produce a replica tune sheet once the tunes have been identified.
The tunes are high quality and recognisable (see below).

The mechanism runs, though not perfectly, and there are no missing or seriously damaged components.
The winder arm is very loose and the Geneva Stop mechanism is not set in the right place.
The case requires little work to restore apart from a couple of small pieces of stringing and re-polishing.

Zither

Comb

Bedplate

Cylinder

All the shiny bits

Reassembly

Before & After

Tune 1 - Can anyone name it please?

The Tunes

If you identify any of the tunes below, I would be grateful for an email from you with any information you can give.
To listen to the tune, click the start button. Although the bar says download, what really happens is the tune opens in another window. To go to the next tune use the back arrow in your browser and select the next tune.
These recording were done before any restoration work.

Tune 01

Tune 02 - Pizzicato Waltz by Strauss
The Pizzicato Polka is a piece of orchestral music by Johann Strauss II. Strauss composed it with his brother Josef in 1869 for a trip to Imperial Russia. It was published in 1870. The polka was written for string orchestra and glockenspiel. It was hugely popular, especially in Italy, where it was included on every program Strauss played there. The piece consists of four melodies and the work is arranged in ternary form (A-B-A). The piece is scored for plucked strings.

Tune 03

Tune 04

Tune 05 - Annen Polka by Strauss
Annen-Polka, Op. 137 (not to be confused with his son's Annen-Polka, Op. 117, 1852)

Tune 06- The Carnival of Venice by Paganini
The "Carnival of Venice" is based on a Neapolitan folk tune called "O Mamma, Mamma Cara" and popularised by violinist and composer Niccolo Paganini, who wrote twenty variations on the original tune. He titled it "Il Carnevale Di Venezia," Op. 10. In 1829, he wrote to a friend, "The variations I've composed on the graceful Neapolitan ditty, 'O Mamma, Mamma Cara,' outshine everything. I can't describe it."

Tune 07

Tune 8