Rare Five-Revolution Grand Format Variations Musical Box by Nico

No. 38758, playing "Morning" in five developments, Gamme No. 1955, with 199 teeth in two combs (both complete) stamped "NICOLE FRERES", brass comb-washers, smooth brass bedplate stamped "NICOLE FRERES A GENEVE", double-fingered winding lever, massive spring and compensated governor with instant-stop, in veneered case with red interior and geometric inlay of brass, enamel and mother-of-pearl, the tune-plaque engraved: "Comme 5 Ouvertures Grand Format Gamme No. 1955, Morning par entier à 5 Développements, Fabriqué par Nicole Frères pour Wales & Mc.Culloch, 32 Ludgate Street, London", wd. 27 ½ in. (70 cm), cylinder 16 ¾ x approx. 4 in. diameter (42,5 x 10 cm), a couple of dampers in need of minor adjustment, otherwise in excellent playing condition. - Provenance: Acquired by the vendor from an antiques shop in Brighton, Great Britain, in March 1979. - 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. Nicole Frères No. 38758 is highly unusual in several respects, not least in presenting a single air in five variations or "developments". The designation "comme ouvertures" presumably refers to arrangements of overture length and quality on a musical box without an operatic program. - Although the composer is not named on the plaque, the program appears to be a series of increasingly adventurous variations on Felix Mendelssohn's "Morning Song", from Volume 5 of his "Songs Without Words" (Opus 62) for the piano, published around 1842-44. - The main motif is interwoven with an embellished arrangement of the refrain from Mendelssohn's "Vaterland in deinen Gauen", better known as the melody to the English Christmas hymn "Hark ! The Herald Angels Sing" adapted by William H. Cummings in 1855. - Each development plays for around two minutes, with a complete playing time of ten minutes for all five. The program was evidently intended to be enjoyed in its entirety as the stop function (inactive) consists of a brass plate with five pins and a single notch to halt the movement at the end of the sequence. - A grand-format musical box with a rare and remarkable repertoire.

布雷克拍品等级是为了方便竞买人判断拍卖品的成色而设置的。布雷克等级用1到6级来标注外观和功能的成色，(从非常好到非常差)。 在目录图册里用括号里的2个数字来表示，前一个数字表示外观成色的级别，后一个数字表示功能成色的级别。如(3/2)表示外观成色是3(满意的)，功能成色2(好)。 成色 定义参照下列标准： 1 - 非常好 (未使用过，没有使用痕迹) 2 - 好 (新，极少的使用痕迹) 3 - 满意的 (普通的使用痕迹) 4 - 及格的 (明显的使用痕迹，某个非主要部件是后配的) 5 - 有缺陷的 (极明显的使用痕迹, 某个主要部件是后配的，功能上有缺陷，需要修理) 6 - 非常差 (严重破损, 缺少重要部件)