In response to previous enquiries and responses on MMD concerning
Barnett Henry Abrahams, the following may add to the debate.  It
is a compilation from many sources written over a long period of
time by writers who featured in MBSI and MBSGB journal publications,
as well as by Jeane-Claude Piguet.

In presenting these details, I have tried to précis exactly what was
originally written but also to show how all information has to be
treated with care.  Established works tend to be accepted without
question and we often quote directly from them, not always stating
that this is so.  All authors are fallible and there are sometimes
typographical errors.  Some state suppositions as if they are fact.
I hope I have not fallen into this trap!

The most important references are quoted in the text, thus allowing
MBSI and MBSGB members to consult their respective journal summaries
to seek more information.  For MBSGB, the Journals are on CD, and on
the web site for MBSI members.

Barnett Henry Abrahams (?-1902) was English, with a sales network in
London.  The written accounts of his trade and trading associations
vary depending on the reference sources.  Piguet (MBSI version,
"The Music Box Makers") for example, gives two different accounts.

On page 63, he states that the business was strictly limited to the
disc musical box but, on page 193, he also states that he went to
Ste.-Croix in 1895 to manufacture cylinder and disc musical boxes.
Evidence, recounted below, shows that Piguet was incorrect about actual
manufacture.  Exactly when he ceased to deal in cylinder musical boxes
is not known but seems to be up to the time the business was
liquidated.

An article written in The Music Box (MBSGB Journal Vol. 15/6 p177)
states that Piguet emigrated to Ste.-Croix in 1857, but the source of
this information is not given.  This seems very unlikely when compared
with the Piguet information, but there is little doubt that he was
active in marketing products from Ste.-Croix and some from Geneva.
Perhaps the date was misprinted from its original but unrecorded
source, a common typographical error.

Bulleid, like Piguet, stated it was 1895 but he may also have been
relying on Piguet's wrings, which we assume in this case are correct.
He wrote extensively about Abrahams (The Music Box, Vols. 17/3 & 4).
His dating chart is produced in his Tune Sheet Book and again in its
Third Supplement.  The chart starts about 1895 and ends about 1903 but
one has to infer this was for cylinder and disc boxes.  He states that
production rates tailed off after the Britannia disc box model appeared
in 1890.

He also made a large quantity of fancy goods with musical movements;
thus it is uncertain how serial numbers relate to his products and
to what extent just to cartel movements.  There was a wide range of
instruments, even a 20-air two-per-turn movement.  Nearly all were at
the cheaper end of the market, often with 10- and 12-airs, many with
bells.

Bulleid suggests he also bought in superior instruments, which won
awards in 1896 and 1897 Exhibitions.  He identified one example as an
Ami Rivenc, 8-air, 13-inch cylinder movement but with Abrahams
standard tune sheet.  This was typical of Bulleid's close examination
and understanding of maker's identifying features.  Here, he noted the
Rivenc practice of writing the last three digits of the serial number
on the bedplate under the comb and also on the cylinder bearings.
However, Abrahams wrote his own serial 44610 at the top right of the
tune sheet.  Bulleid wrote that he never put his serial numbers on his
own boxes, so this is an important clue.

The last tune was 'on the dots' (typical of most Geneva makers,
including Rivenc) whereas Abrahams followed typical Ste.-Croix practice
with tune 1 'on the dots'.  This high serial number, observed by
Bulleid, fails to equate with or to be explained by his dating chart.
In Vol. 17/4, he suggests that Abrahams had a different range of serial
numbers before 1890, yet he dated the latest tune of serial 44610 (Vol.
17/3) as about 1896!  Clearly, Abrahams poses a number of problems for
researchers.

His sales were prolific and indicate he was effectively an agent for
Ste.-Croix maker(s) as well as a maker in his own right from 1895.
Piguet wrote that this was Charles Cuendet (Cuendet-Seeger), with
which Bulleid agrees.  Seeger was his married name.  It was being
common practice at the time to add the wife's family name -- no doubt
to avoid confusion when there were so many with the same name but very
confusing for researchers, particularly when the names get confused
with partnerships!

Recorded serial numbers range from the low 100s to at least +44,600.
Few movements had combs of more than 45 teeth.  Cases were often
decorated with transfer cross-banding and motifs, larger than required
for the movement and no doubt meant to impress by size rather than
quality.  Some transfers are of superior quality, such as the Royal
coat-of-arms or a naval scene.

Bulleid noticed several Abraham features on what are presumed to be his
own manufacture, such as a wide nickel-plated control-lever platform.
Also, some of the 6- and 3-inch cylinder movements were in phonograph
type cases with removable lids.  Some bedplate castings included the
BHA letters, almost certainly Ste.-Croix production.

Abrahams apparently started in partnership with a Marcus Newmark in
1866 and the firm had an address in London at 128 Hounsditch.  The
partners were joined briefly by another to form Newmark, Abrahams &
Goldschmidt, ca. 1871-1872, according to Internet-derived information.
In 1885 he traded as Barnett H. Abrahams, as recorded in Trade
directories.  Initially, he appears to be mainly a London businessman
and agent dealing in cylinder and disc musical boxes as well as a very
wide range of goods, including silver.

His silver marks were applied and recorded at assay offices in London,
Birmingham and Chester.  All show his address as Hounsditch, London.
The marks vary but all comprised the letters BHA, either as B.H.A.
within a rectangle, c1888, or each letter within a circle.  Later,
c1895, the letters were inside the outline of an 8-point star, the
first two letters above the A.  This seems to indicate the date when
he established his Silver Star Depot, through which his products were
distributed.  He also had his own trademark, a lion with a globe inside
a sunburst.

He may initially have commissioned items from Ste.-Croix and possibly
Geneva before 1895.  Certain items were sold under British brand names:
Victoria and Alexandra for cylinder musical boxes, including ones with
bells, Imperial and Britannia for disc boxes as well as small musical
movements but he may also have made them when he became the owner.

This occurred when he established the B. H. Abrahams Company in
Ste.-Croix on 24th August 1895 in rue des Arts 3 & 7.  It was
effectively an agreed take-over of Cuendet-Develay with former owner
Charles Cuendet-Seeger as manager, from about 1895-1902.

A lithographed trade card for B. H. Abrahams, printed by Memminger of
Neuchâtel, ca. 1895, has the obverse listing special musical boxes with
four sweet airs (airs mign. mignon meaning sweet, nothing to do with
Thomas' opera based on Goethe's Wilhelm Meister!), cylinder cases
(coffrets), cylinders of various sizes (measured in pouces); musical
automata with carousels and big wheels (Roue Monstre); musical box
extras (such as zithers, tune indicators, pairs of handles (P. Poignées),
pairs of barrels (barillets couplé).  Bulleid presumed most were not of
his own manufacture.

A typical tune sheet is illustrated in HAV Bulleid's Book: Musical Box
Tune Sheets, number 25, illustrating the trademark Silver Star with a
lion dominating the world as its central motif.  At the bottom left
margin are the words: 'B.H.A. Ste.-Croix Switzerland' and on the right
hand side the words: '& London'.  The tune sheets are beautifully
designed in colour; the artist's name: Walter Marty Herisau appears at
the bottom right near the toes of the frock-coated gentleman and his lady.

B. H. Abrahams exhibited at the 1896 Geneva National Exhibition,
including cylinder musical boxes with very large diameter cylinders
(often referred to as 'fat' cylinders), up to 5.5 inches.  It seems
that there were few makers of this type and that they were an attempt
to provide more high quality music at about 2.5 minutes per revolution,
using the conventional pinning for the standard (about 2-inch) diameter
movements.  Several tunes could be pinned on a single turn.

The firm exploited the huge market for putting movements into usable
objects such as tables, cabinets, writing desks, glove boxes, drinks
cabinets and novelty carousels.  Theirs was mainly an overseas market
including Chinese, Arabic, Turkish and Japanese and they pinned the
airs of these countries as well as European ones.

The Junod index of addresses of 1901 gives the address as rue des
Arts 5, Ste.-Croix, with a compliment of 58 workers.  After his death
in 1902 his sons, Joseph H Abrahams and Henri C Abrahams ran the
business as Les Fils de Barnett H. Abrahams, 'The sons of Barnet
Abrahams'.  Times were difficult and Henri left the business the
following year, 1903.  Joseph formed a new company on 24th June 1904
in partnership with Charles Cuendet called Britannia SA but this soon
failed and was liquidated on 18th January the following year.

Paul Bellamy