[ Ref. Darrell Clarke in 210126 MMDigest ]

by David Worrall, MBSGB Registrar
(Posted by Alison Biden on Mr Worrall's behalf)

The Interchangeable referred to in Mr. Clarke's posting on MMD dated
25th January in all probability must refer to the Interchangeable
Serial No. 1601, details for which are held on The Arthur D Cunliffe
Musical Box Register (The Register) at entry #R-9068. This entry dates
from June 1972 when the box was noted as being sold by Sotheby's at Lot
273 of their June 1972 sale.

At the time of the entry, the maker was unknown and none of the 36
tunes on the cylinders sold with it were identified to The Registrar
at the time. It was recorded as being in a walnut case with a domed lid
and being approx. 68.5 cm wide but no reference is made to Fortnum &
Mason in the entry.

The pictures attached to Mr. Clarke's posting include one of the Tune
Sheet and one of the Fortnum & Mason's stock card associated with the
box in which he expresses interest. These items have provided more
information for The Register, including the titles of all 36 tunes;
unfortunately, however, the Tune Sheet itself, its rather elaborate
border-work apart, is rather nondescript and it has not been possible
to associate it with any particular maker.

The Arthur D Cunliffe Musical Box Register (The Register) was initiated
by the late Arthur Cunliffe, former Honorary Life Member and President
of the Musical Box Society of Great Britain. The Register is now owned
and managed by that Society for the benefit of cylinder musical box
interests worldwide. It contains details of surviving cylinder musical
boxes submitted to The Registrar. For further information, to register
a musical box or to enquire for information from The Register, please
contact The Registrar by emailing registrar@mbsgb.org.uk.geentroep
[delete ".geentroep" to reply].

Fortnum & Mason (F&M): this is the quality London Department Store
that "has been home to extraordinary food, joy-giving things and
unforgettable experiences since 1707". Inter alia, F&M had an antiques
department and, in the 1960/1970 period Keith Harding, whose well known
and respected musical box restoration and repair workshops were not far
away in London, sold musical boxes to F&M for them to be sold on to the
public by the latter's antiques department. This went on for several
years, but eventually the department was closed and all the unsold
boxes are thought to have gone to the Victoria & Albert Museum in
London where they were on view for some time; their precise current
location is unknown.

David Worrall