Bill Bones inquired about the value of a Stella music box, and I have
had some correspondence on that separately.  However I would like to
make a couple of general observations.

As Nancy has indicated, Stellas are very prone to broken teeth.  This
can generally be avoided with proper care in handling the disc, but
nonetheless probably half the Stella music boxes we handle have or
have had broken teeth.

This unfortunately has a twofold impact: 1) there is a heavy cost of
having the teeth replaced, and in most cases you will have to have a
full restoration done since most restorers don't want to do just teeth,
and amateurs should not attempt removing (and more importantly
replacing) combs anyways; and 2) even once the comb repairs have been
expertly done it will still hurt the value of the music box, an
identical music box with expertly replaced teeth will always be valued
for less than one with no replaced teeth, even though the sound may be
identical.

Also, there are enormous ranges in other condition/quality variables.
For instance, we currently have two 17 1/4" Stellas on our web site
(www.mechantiques.com), both are table models, mahogany, disc storage
drawers.  One is priced at $5400 because it is very nice, looks good,
has been restored in the past (three replaced teeth), etc.  The other
is priced at $1500 because it has 8 or 10 broken teeth, has been
electrified, and the case needs some work, and we were extremely
disappointed when it arrived -- having been seriously misrepresented.

The bottom line is to be careful when you buy, especially about who you
buy from.  Study books -- the previously mentioned Encyclopedia is
great as a general reference (we sell these for $80 postpaid, $150 for
two) but it is mostly historical and general descriptions.  I would
strongly urge the purchase of a book on restoring music boxes before
buying a box, not with the idea of restoring but just to get an idea of
how they work and what you should watch out for.

Marty Roenigk
www.mechantiques.com