Featured E.L. Cuendet music box

Hi, I have another item from my mother's estate. Obviously it's a music box, and the label taped to the bottom says "E. L. Cuendet, Importer and Manufacturer 57 Maiden Lane New York". I found just a little bit about E.L Cuendet on the internet but nothing much. Does anyone happen to know anything about this and its value? I suspect it's not anything very unusual, and as you can see from the pictures it's definitely not in mint condition - but it does work. Thank you!

 

That it works certainly makes a difference, and things like this are very collectible. It's very attractive, but I don't know the value. Finding the name of the maker is what you want.

How does it play different tunes? Is the cylinder interchangeable?

 

I'm not sure if the cylinder is interchangeable, but when you open the lid, on the righthand side one of the controls says "change" and "repete" (though the label plate actually seems to be on upside down). If you put it on the change setting it engages a mechanism that causes the cylinder to shift from side to side slightly each time the cylinder makes a full rotation, so that it keeps switching songs. And in case it's interesting, here is the article I found that seems to mention the maker and his family and another about other members of the family - the whole family seems to have made music boxes.
https://www.eiou.at/wiener/weitere/KOMPNSTN/zz1saeul/maker/cuendet.html
https://www.mmdigest.com/Archives/Digests/201806/2018.06.13.01.html

 

I find him in 1897 reporting a huge demand for Swiss music boxes. He was at 21 John Street then.

Debora

 

Same address in 1893. Factory in Switzerland so yours likely Swiss.

Debora

 

Interesting. 57 Maiden Lane was Thomas Jefferson's home.

Debora

 

Wow, that's great detective work - thanks so much for the information! I found that about Thomas Jefferson when I looked up the address, too, but it seemed like such an odd coincidence I didn't know what to think about it.

 

Here's the trick... When you're doing an internet search, in addition to looking under All, also click on Books. Often valuable information to be found there. If you want to hone in on dates, you can go to the NYC Public Library web site; they've old directories on line. At some point after 1897, Cuendet relocated to Maiden Lane. (It appears the business was established on John Street.) The Jefferson residence was demolished by 1929 so that's your window.

Debora

 

I wondered where you found that information - that's so helpful! I'm slowly finding out how to look into these on my own and this helps a lot!

 

I am somewhat familiar with the name Regina. The owner of the shop that I was in sold a few. They were table models and came with several cylinders. Priced around $10,000 at the time (15 years ago). Absolutely beautiful sound. Customers loved it when it was played.

You might get in contact with this company............even if it's not a Regina, I believe they could help you.
https://www.antiquemusicboxes.com/

 

Another method of dating is by the musical selections. (That's why it's always important to post good quality close-up photographs of any labels, stickers or handwritten notations.) Bizet's Carmen, for instance, premiered in 1875 and Chassaigne's Le droit d'aînesse in 1883. See how that narrows the window?

Debora

 

It's a pretty standard design but looks to be in excellent condition with 10 tunes. A lot depends upon it length. A good way to find actual worth is to keep watch on ebay in the "Sold" section. Another source of info and probably the best, would be the "Music Box Society" forums. There is a branch in GB and also one in the US.

 

Thank you all so much for the help! It's so useful - and interesting! I'm learning a lot. I'll do some more investigation and check out the Music Box Society, too.