No. 42929, Gamme no. 1899, with 235 teeth in two combs (both complete) stamped "Nicole Frères", double-fingered winding-lever, brass bedplate stamped "Nicole Frères à Genève", compensated governor with instant-stop, brass control panel and tune-plaque engraved "4 Airs Variations, Fabriqué de Nicole Frères, Genève, pour Keith Prowse & Co., 48 Cheapside, London", in bookmatched burr-walnut-veneered case with kingwood banding (split on lid), wd. 29 in. (74 cm), cylinder 16 ½ x 4 in. diameter (42 x 10 cm), a couple of minor damper adjustments are necessary, otherwise excellent playing condition. - Provenance: Purchased 31 October 1979 from an auction in Torquay, Great Britain. - Literature: Bellamy et al., "The Nicole Factor in Mechanical Music" p. 216, for another grand format musical box (no. 44221) with the same Gamme number and program. - Described by Arthur Ord-Hume as "one of the most interesting and musically spectacular styles of musical box", the variations format was perfected by Nicole Frères during the 1860s. On this example, Rossini's "William Tell" overture (not a variation) is followed by variations on "The Harmonious Blacksmith" by Handel and embellished arrangements of "The Queen of Roses Waltz" by d'Albert and "Il Bacio Waltz" by Arditi. The notation on "The Harmonious Blacksmith" is particularly fine. Each tune plays for around 2 minutes and 25 second on a single revolution.