The music box, or otherwise known as a musical box, makes one feel that it has been around since history began. This unique item certainly has the history that can be the stuff of myth. Before the radio and before television came to be, they gave the young as well as the old sheer entertainment.
The history of the music box started during the beginning of the 19th century. However, as far as that time was, the item has changed very little. It still contains pins that are set on a revolving disc or cylinder. The cylinder has teeth on it that hit this comb made of metal inside the novelty item. When this comb brushes along the cylinder and hits the teeth, this is where the music is heard.
There are types of this item that have some “decorations” about them, kind of like the dancing ballerina music boxes that can be seen in some advertisements.
These novelty items originated from the snuffbox, an item that men stored inside their pockets. Eventually, the fancied music item came in various sizes, some as small as a snuffbox while others were the size of a chair.
As time passed on, the common music box became something that could be easily put on top of tables, small and conveniently sized. Upon the exit of the 19th century, those who made this novelty item also came to populate American city streets.
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