Cylinder Musical Box with Patented Winding Mechanism by E. Karre

No. 7304, playing six airs, with 104 teeth in comb (missing six treble tips), zither attachment (without tissue paper), co-axial spring, ratchet-lever with winding gear stamped: "E. Karrer-Hoffmann, Teufenthal, Suisse", walnut case and veneered and inlaid lid, wd. 20 in. (51 cm), cylinder 11 in. (28 cm), playing condition, one governor fan detached, missing Geneva stopwork, dampers in need of attention. - Literature: David Snelling, in: "The Music Box Journal", Vol. 19, No. 1 (Spring 1999), pp. 10-12; Vol. 19, No. 2 (Summer 1999), pp. 36-38. - Note: Karrer & Cie was founded by Rudolph and Hans Karrer in Teufenthal, Switzerland, in 1854. The company was dissolved in 1879. The following year, Rudolph and his wife Elise registered a new business under the name "Karrer-Hoffmann, Elise", with Rudolph as power of attorney. Snelling speculates: "There appears (…) to have been some deviousness when Rudolph dissolved Karrer & (Cie) based on the pretense that Elise was the inventor of the (winding) mechanism which she proceeded to patent in England on August 7th 1880." - The patented winding mechanism necessitated the inverted mounting of the movement seen here, with the comb at the back and the cylinder at the front, in order to allow the ratchet-lever sufficient travel without colliding against the case wall. (The right case divider has been removed to show the winding mechanism in the catalog photograph). - A very unusual movement, worthy of an overhaul.

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)