Hello fellow MMDers.  I was referred to this Digest as a possible
reference for an antique cylinder music box I recently purchased
through eBay.  I have not been able to find any other references
in my area (local libraries, book stores, etc.) and I need help.

I would like to learn more about the manufacturer, if possible,
as well as the year.  Certainly if someone out there might be able
to help tell me what it's value is one way or the other, and about
general maintenance and cleaning, that would all be very important
as well.

Frankly, what I would like to know first, before we even get into
trying to learn more about the instrument, is how severely does a
damaged or repaired case degrade the value?  The case was damaged in
shipping and I haven't had much luck so far finding someone to get
estimates on the repair.  (No, it wasn't insured, although the shipper
was supposed to have insured it.)

Could I trust just taking it to a carpenter or woodworker or should
I try to find an antiques restorer?  Would I be better off trying to
find another case to mount the movement into or just repairing this one?

(To be honest, I'm not 100% sure this is really the original box,
but I'll leave my reasons to another message since this one seems to
be getting rather lengthy.)

Hope there are a few music box specialists out there to help me.

Tim Kramer
http://www.users.fast.net/~bigguns