A Very Rare Tunbridge Ware Music Box c1890

Description

Heading : Tunbridge Ware – Small but Very Rare Music Box with Sliding Lid
Date : c1890
Period : Victorian
Origin : England. Tunbridge Wells; attributed to the workshops of Messers Boyce. Brown & Kemp
Decoration : Two continuous and one banded keyline to the top edge; two geometric bands around all four sides – one x three square and one x seven square – both enclosed in their own pairs of continuous keylines
Size : 7.4 x 4.8 x 2.6 cm
Condition : Very good; one missing tile; no bumps or bruises; the colour of the exterior pin-cushion covering has – unfortunately – faded from a deep purple (as evidenced by the internal piece) to a rather drab brown
Restoration : none
Weight :  57 grams

Notes :  This is a very fine thing ! It’s only small. and based on a common enough design. with the standard version being just a stand-alone pin cushion and trinket box. but the addition of the music box makes it both delightful and – to the best of our knowledge – one of a kind. . The tune it plays – still perfectly recognisable – is Brahm’s Lullaby or Cradle Song. composed in 1868 and – in the 20th century – recorded by such luminaries as Bing Crosby. Frank Sinatra and Rosemary Clooney !