I have a cylinder box that is called an Expressive Harmonic by
Palliard.  The serial number is 24217.  The box is in perfect
condition and plays six tunes:

  1. La Dame Blanche;  2. La Diane;
  3. Les Mousquelaires de la Reine;  4. Prayer During The Storm;
  5. Freischulz;  6. Spring, Spring.

I have not seen an Expressive Harmonic box before.  I have seen boxes
with many names, including Mandolin Expressive box, but I had truly
never heard a music box sound like this one.  I currently have six
interchangeable boxes and some other very large boxes.  I have two
overture boxes and I have examined very closely and worked on at least
1,000 cylinder boxes.  This box that I have now is the most
unbelievable quality of any box that I have ever seen.

I realize that there are some outstanding overture boxes and they would
be a better quality as this box, but I have never heard a sound quite
like it before.  It has three combs: the lower comb has 65 notes, the 2nd
comb has 19 notes, and the third comb has 49, for a total of 133 teeth.
It has a 14" cylinder of 2-3/8" diameter.

The first comb looks like a lower bass comb, but the second comb of 19
notes is a bass comb and they are actually longer than the bass note of
the lower comb.  The upper comb has very fine teeth.  When you examine
the cylinder you see that it has six notes that sound like a trill,
very similar to the DuCommond Girad.  You can also see that it is a
Mandolin box and you can see that the teeth are tuned alike, because
you have a row of teeth that slants to the right, and this cylinder has
just as many teeth that slants downward to the left.

It has a very beautiful inlay on the top of two deer and two trees and
shrubs which surround a three-tier fountain.  The front of the box has
a swan on a lake with many leaves and long stems around the lake.  The
box is very decorative because it uses two different types of wood plus
it has the stringing design around the top and the front.

This box has a very unusual clarity in the sound.  I am overwhelmed
by this clarity and the outstanding sound of this box.  I would really
like to hear any comments from anyone who has seen an Expressive
Harmonic box.

James Brady