In 1796, Geneva watchmaker Antoine Favre designed a musical mechanism that was unique for its time, capable of reproducing melodies without the use of bells and hammers. Instead of five bells, it became possible to install 20-30 spring-loaded plates, thereby expanding the sound range to three octaves. This invention soon evolved into a sound comb. The mechanism was driven by the energy of a wound spring. At first, the mechanism was inserted into clocks and perfume bottles. Then the design was complicated and was placed in separate boxes – this is how music boxes appeared – a product of the industrial revolution. In 1815, the first factory manufacturing them was opened in Switzerland. The sound ‘comb’ (a mechanism that reproduces melodies) created at that time was designed as a metal comb with specially tuned teeth of different lengths. In the first boxes, each tooth of a musical comb was made separately and attached to a common plate with a screw. The relative simplicity and compactness of musical mechanisms with cylinder and sound comb made it possible to build them into all kinds of everyday items. These were snuff boxes, boxes for smelling salt, jewellery boxes, toiletries cases, even signets, not to mention watches.

Later designs the blocks containing two to five teeth were used. The artisan François Lecultelies managed to produce the sound comb with a large number of teeth forming a single unit, which greatly simplified the production technology. Nevertheless, some companies continued to produce musical mechanisms with combs composed of separate sections until 1840.

The rotating cylinder (or disc) with pins protruding above its surface is precisely the musical score or notation that this or that music box reads. As the cylinder rotates, the pins hook on the necessary teeth of the comb, deflecting them from their equilibrium position. As they come off the pins during further rotation, these teeth begin to vibrate, transmitting sound to the body of the box. As with most acoustic musical instruments, the body of a music box is necessary not only for its attractive appearance, but also for a richer and louder sound. The pins are arranged in accordance with the encoded melody. If you rotate the drum evenly, the pins will hit the teeth in the correct sequence. But if you rearrange the pins, you will get a different melody.

A comb is a flat metal piece with many (sometimes even hundreds) of tuned teeth of varying lengths. The length of each tooth determines the pitch of the sound. A long, thick tooth produces a low sound, while a short, narrow one – a high sound. It is a kind of magical language, where the sequence of touches of the pins to the teeth is turned into a melody.

Cylinders with multiple melodies have more than one set of pins located on the same cylinder. The pins for the second melody are slightly offset from the first one. The cylinder moves relative to the comb, and the other set of pins comes into contact with the teeth, thus playing the next piece of music.

The teeth of the comb are responsible for the harmony of the sound range in the musical mechanism. The sound quality depends on the chemical composition of the steel used to manufacture a sound comb. Each tooth is tuned using a tuning fork, with the teeth ground down on the reverse side and soldered to add weight (to lower the sound). Combs also differ in the shape of their teeth.

The invention of a music box with a volume control caused a real sensation. This was achieved by the presence of two combs with identical teeth; when one tooth was engaged, the box played softly, but when two identical teeth were engaged, the sound became louder.

A sound comb is an essential component of various mechanisms designed according to the principles of a music box. Music boxes exist solely for pleasure. They awaken memories of the past, soothe with gentle melodies and help us feel like children again, just by lifting the lid or turning the handle of the box several times. The sections of the museum exposition ‘Music Boxes’, ‘Clocks and Objects with Movement’, ‘Amusing Automata’, and ‘Musical Houseware’ feature a variety of objects with built-in sound combs.

Music box. Austro-Hungarian Empire. Circa 1870
Coin-operated music box with automaton. Mermod Frères. Switzerland, Geneve. Circa 1890
Disc music box "Stella" with automaton. Gustave Vichy , Frères Mermod – musical movement. Switzerland / France, Saint Croix / Paris. The 1910-1920s
Music table clock. D.L. Iacopin. Switzerland, La Chaux-de-Fonds. 1815-1850
Music box with metal disks. B. Grosz und Co. Germany, Leipzig. Late 19^th – early 20^th centuries
Coin operated music box "Symphonion No 25 F "Falstaff". Fabrik Lochmannscher Musikwerke AG. Germany, Leipzig. Circa 1898
Disk music box “Adler No. 225”. Julius Heinrich Zimmermann. Germany, Leipzig. The 1900s
Musical box with metal disc and eight bells. Polyphon Musikwerke. Germany, Leipzig. Circa 1900