Yesterday, I finally picked up a treasured family heirloom whose
restoration has been ongoing, finances providing, for the last decade
(or more).  We were careful to find qualified technicians who shared
our love for the instrument.  I am happy to report that it is complete.

Today, I drove it over to visit my 92-year-old mother who suffers from
dementia.  Few things light her up these days and I found her lying in
bed with her eyes closed.  The assisted living staff had been unable to
rouse her.  She looked terribly frail.  She has good days and bad days.
This was clearly a bad day.  I mentioned that the music box was finally
complete, knowing that if anything could put a spark in her mind, this
would do it.

She often told stories of her childhood in the 1920s and '30s and the
music box, which she had carried from home to home across the country
her entire life, had clearly meant a lot to her.  She had wanted it
repaired and preserved but the cost was exorbitant and we did not have
the money.  She held on to it anyway, always hoping.

The Bremond's ebony box was fully restored by Florentine Antique
Restoration in Ridgefield, Connecticut.  The beautiful inlay, including
the bearded man's face on the front, is now clearly discernible.  The
cylinder was completely re-pinned and all inner workings polished and
restored by The Musical Wonder House in Wiscasset, Maine.  It was
likely one of their last projects before the tragic illness of the
founder, his death, and its subsequent closure this past year.

I brought the music box into my mother's room and fired it up.  It
boasts 12 airs and each played in turn, the sound filling the room,
it's six bells ringing true and, as far as my uneducated ear could
tell, not a pin was missing.  It was perfect.

I wish I could say that my mother rallied, but it was a bad day.  That
being said, I am sure I saw the corner of her mouth turn up slightly.
My disappointment was sob-invoking but when I lay down next to her,
I did notice a tear had formed in the corner of her eye and she allowed
me to hold her hand.  Maybe it was not such a bad day after all.

I write this to you after my attempts to research the music box led
me to Paul Bellamy's article, "Bremond Musical Boxes", from July 20,
2010.  I was so grateful to find it!  I then read his more recent post,
"The Future of Mechanical Music", posted August 15th of this year.

 [ http://www.mmdigest.com/Archives/Digests/201007/2010.07.20.03.html 
 [ http://www.mmdigest.com/Archives/Digests/201408/2014.08.15.05.html 

In response to the latter, I wanted to go on record that there are
people in the general public that appreciate these amazing mechanical
instruments.  I am so glad that the experts exist that can help us
navigate the restoration process and those, like Mr. Bellamy, that can
help us better understand the history.

I am so grateful that my mother carried the dilapidated box from West,
to South (even to Puerto Rico!) to East, in the hopes of someday
bringing it back to life.  I am pleased to report that her wish,
whether she knows it or not, has come true and that it will continue
to be loved, and her stories of the mechanical music box will now be
passed down for generations to come.  Now, however, they will be backed
up by the wonderment of its mechanics, the music and the beautiful box
they are housed in.

Matti Bradley

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