Exceptional Horological Sale Celebrat...

Hotel Noga Hilton, Geneva, Apr 24, 2004

LOT 352

Aug. Lassueur, Ste. Croix, circa 1895. Very fine and spectacular rosewood and walnut coin-operated 12-tune musical "automate" box with three dancers.

CHF 12,000 - 18,000

EUR 7,600 - 11,300 / USD 9,400 - 14,000

Sold: CHF 12,075

C. Rectangular, front with hinged glazed door for viewing the scene, hinged door below for compartment containing coin-box and crank lever, shaped base and top, left panel with winding aperture, front with coin-slot.M. 33 cm nickel-plated pinned cylinder with double barrel, adjustable fly governor with ruby endstone, adjustable damping, to the left of the cylinder tempo gauge, electrically-operated start mechanism triggered by a coin.In front three dolls dancing to the music, their movements provided by levers. Signed on the front of the case, tune list on back door.Dim. height 60 cm, width 66 cm, depth 30 cm


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Grading System
Grade: AAA

Excellent
Case: 3

Good
Movement: 3*

Good

Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense
Dial: 3 - 01

Notes

This type of coin-operated musical box with automata, playing one or more tunes for ten centimes, was often placed in railway station waiting rooms in French-speaking Switzerland. For this reason such pieces are also called "boîtes de gare". A similar musical box (with a miniature roundabout instead of dolls), attributed to Lassueur, is illustrated and discussed in Weiss-Stauffacher, "Automates et Instruments de musique mécanique" (Office du Livre, Fribourg, 1976), p 88-90.