Paris, Nov. 12th, 1998,

Dear MMD's,  On Sunday December 6th, at 13h30, in Chartres (France),
there will be a large auction of mechanical music and automatas.
(More than 200 instruments : see details below).

Chartres is a beautiful old city, about 1 hour from Paris with a car
or by train.  You may visit one of the finest XIIIth century cathedral
in France, with wonderful deep blue stained glass windows ("le bleu
de Chartres").  It has been for centuries a well known pilgrimage.

The auction will take place about 300 yards from this cathedral,
in an old gothic chapel, at the Galerie de Chartres.

The three auctioneers are MM. Jean-Pierre Lelievre, Pascal Maiche
and Alain Paris.  For any information or to get a catalog (it will
be issued next week, with a leaflet with an English translation
if we can manage it), just write or fax to:

  Galerie de Chartres
  1 bis place du General de Gaulle,
  F-28000-Chartres
  Tel.: +33 (0)2 37 84 04 33
  Fax: +33 (0)2 37 36 34 71
Do not dial the first 0 if you are outside France.
(Alas, no web site nor e-mail for the moment).

In France, very often auctioneers ask someone who is a specialist
(or supposed to be so) to help them and describe the instruments for
sale.  They asked me to do it ..., so I am able to give you some
details about this auction, and some of the best instruments which will
be offered for sale.  (Next week, I shall try to put some photographs
on the Musica Mecanica Web pages).

As a whole, there are two exceptional cylinder music boxes (one is a
rare bird indeed), and many other good ones, nice musical snuff boxes
and singing bird boxes, portable or bigger organs (pipes or reeds),
some by Bruder or Gavioli, several coin operated mechanical cylinder
pianos ( and a very large one !), and many other pieces.

Let's describe a few items, with estimates:
  (1000 FF = ca. 180 US$,  or ca. 105 GBP)

Musical boxes:

 - A very rare large interchangeable musical box on a table, with a
clock (which may start it) and two bird automatas, made for the Chinese
market.  It plays on combs, bells, drum, and ... a set of 11 small
wooden pipes for the birds songs ! It comes with 4 cylinders.  Est.
80/120.000 FF

 - A rare "boite de gare", coin operated musical box as you may find
in some Swiss train stations : that one is quite big, with a very large
(45 cm) bisque headed dancing doll on top of the movement.  Est.
80/100.000 FF

 - A rare 15 cm cylinder key-wound musical box by David Cadet a Moret
(Jura), who was a very good maker.  Est. 6/8.000 FF

 - A 24 cm cylinder 6 tunes movement with teeth by groups of 2.

 - Several musical gold watches, one is a minute repeater.

 - Several good musical snuff boxes, one by H. Capt, and another by
F.  Lecoultre.  The one by H. Capt is supposed to have belonged to
George III, king of England.

 - A capital interchangeable musical box, a large hidden bells and
drum musical box, several disc musical boxes, etc.


Organs:

 - An interesting 35 keys Oehrlin organ with a band of 7 automatas on
top of the mechanism, built around 1980 by this famous (and excellent)
organ and automata builder.  Record prices were reached in the Milhous
auction by several of his makes.  Est. 60/100.000 FF

 - A very rare and quite early large 30 keys French manivelle table
organ, made by Chevallier a Paris in 1815 (as written on the original
tune sheet), with 5 stops.  3 stops are visible, with metal pipes, but
the two other stops are with wooden pipes which are placed under the
organ, and are made all together of two large planks with wooden
dividers between them (!!!) instead of the usual pipes made of 4 glued
planks.  Such a disposition was used sometimes in early organs, probably
to save work and space.  The cylinder is 89 cm long.  Needs to be
restored.  Est. 20/30.000 FF.

 - A good reeds portable 26 keys (+ two bells) "Meloton" Gavioli organ.
Est.  45/65.000 FF


Miscellaneous

 - A 73 notes piano melodico Racca (on 3 feet), with 18 books of music,
mainly operatic.  (With the fast repetition of the action, La Traviata
makes you cry !)  Est. 30/35.000 FF

And scores of other items ...

There are some good automatas and phonos, too, but, sorry, I am not
specialized in these things, so I shall not describe them.

If you wish any other information about these objects, please use
my e-mail: <rouille@cnam.fr>.

But for administrativia, conditions of bidding and payment, and
catalogues, please ask directly the auction house, it is not my part
to deal with these matters.

Best regards, with the hope of meeting you in Chartres on December 6th !

Philippe Rouille  (Paris, France)
rouille@cnam.fr
http://www.cnam.fr/museum/musica_mecanica/