Advertising, Toy & Doll Division Newsletter

James D. Julia, Inc.

Advertising, Toy & Doll Division

Save the Date.

Spotlight This great sounding Mermod Freres music box with six interchangeable cylinders of six tunes each, a zither attachment mounted on musical lyre with flowers and leaves, and tune indicator will be offered in our November auction (est. $3,500-4,000).		Past Successes Regina Style 35 disc music box with leaded glass front and original clock sold in our November 2012 auction for $34,100. This rare and desirable machine boasted not only outstanding condition of its stunning leaded glass door but also its original clock, which is often replaced or missing altogether.

Meet Our Consultants

Ed Openshaw

Ed Openshaw of Rumney, New Hampshire has been Julia's music machine consultant and cataloger for over 13 years and has been buying, selling, repairing, and restoring music machines for over 45 years. Originally from the Pasadena, California area, he started his lifetime love of music machines at age 14 when he bought his first phonograph while other kids his age were playing with marbles and buying baseball cards. He began his actual career in the carnival business operating and maintaining the organs on the midway. It was during his stint in the Navy during the late 1960s that he learned commercial restoration of player pianos while stationed in Hawaii. He then worked in the retail business for Hathaway & Bowers (for the renowned author and music machine authority Q. David Bowers) working on orchestrions, developing a great appreciation for nickelodeons and other automatic music. He moved to New England during the mid-1980s to be closer to family and has been there ever since, growing his business almost exclusively through word of mouth.

You can call Julie or Andrew at 207-453-7125, or email us at atd@jamesdjulia.com

Andrew Truman is approaching his 13th year as head of Julia's Toy, Doll & Advertising division, having returned to the Kennebec Valley, where he was born and raised, after receiving his B.A. in English from the University of Oregon.

What's It Worth

This Mills Violano Virtuoso sold in our June 2013 Auction for $29,625 with an estimate of $20,000-30,000. If you have a rare toy, doll or advertising item and want to know “What’s it Worth,” please take a picture and email it to us at atd@jamesdjulia.com. We are always looking consignments of rare and valuable items, as well as collections for our auctions

A Brief History of Music Machines

Long before digital media and iPods, before compact discs, albums, and cassettes, even before Marconi sent his first radio signal in 1895, music boxes provided entertainment to the masses. Automatic music machines originated in the 18th century using metal discs and cylinders set with various pins, powered by a clockwork motor that would pluck a series of tuned “teeth” on a steel comb, producing various notes and sounds. These inventions developed in the mid-late 19th century from musical snuff boxes of all things, bringing music out of concert halls and into the home.

Originally built by watchmakers, much of music box production throughout the 19th century was centered in Switzerland because of their renowned watchmaking history. Many opened factories in the United States

to meet the demand for the machines' growing popularity here. The music boxes became more complex over the years to include additional instruments for a fuller sound such as drums, bells, etc. Later, these developments surpassed the simple comb plucking function to include bellows and levers that would activate a wind instrument, strike piano chords, or pluck a stringed instrument, or a combination of these elements in such contraptions as player pianos, nickelodeons, and orchestrions, which were louder and more versatile than their predecessors.

As the 19th century yielded to the 20th, the public was no longer content with just the “simple” music machines of the past. These improvements led to the development of recorded music, actually conceived in the late 1870s by Thomas Edison, and spawned

the modern music technology of the 20th century. One of the last ditch efforts of the music box industry was the Reginaphone, which combined a disc playing music box with a turntable and needle attachment that would also play records. It proved to be very popular until sales and demand for the recorded music far overshadowed the outmoded technology, putting manufacturers of the earlier comb music boxes out of business.

A revival of sorts in the interest in music machines came about out of nostalgia, continuing in popularity throughout the mid-late 20th century, even to today among collectors who long for a simpler time. Music machines of nearly every variety can still be found at auction, in shops, and at shows ranging from the reasonably priced to downright outrageous.

www.jamesdjulia.com | atd@jamesdjulia.com

At James D. Julia, Inc. we are always seeking high quality antiques of all types for our year-round auctions. We offer the best seller commission rates in the industry, as low as 0% for high value items and collections. Please contact us directly at 207-453-7125 (Maine office) or 781-460-6800 (Boston area office) to learn more or if you are considering consigning one item, an entire collection or an estate to auction. All inquiries are confidential and without obligation.