A Two-Per-Turn Music Box by J. Scriber

Possibly by Nicole Frères

serial no. 30365, with 12 x 3 inch cylinder, playing 12 airs on six revolutions, Gamme no. 1104(?), the bedplate and governor bracket are both engraved J. Scriber, in rosewood case with brass and enamel inlay to lid, front and sides, the lid inlay also inscribed J. Scriber.
Height 8 x width 29 x depth 11 inches.

Property from the Myra and Larry Karp Collection of Musical Boxes and Automata, Seattle, Washington

This lot is located in Chicago.

Published:

Karp, Larry, "A Mysterious Scriber Cylinder Musical Box," Journal of Mechanical Music (Winter 1990): 24-28.

A Nicole forte-piano box #26178 (sold Sotheby's London November 1992) bore a retailer's label for a "John Scriber", watchmaker and jeweler, Geneva and at 20 Portland Street Dublin.

Note:

Few couples have been as heavily involved in the mechanical music collecting world as Myra and the late Larry Karp. Beginning in the late 1970s, they conquered collecting with a drive and passion that showed itself not only in the high quality of the items they acquired, but in their joint contributions to the collecting community at large.

Myra, a past President of the Musical Box Society International, was the consummate organizer, whether arranging for hundreds to attend the Society’s annual meeting in Seattle (their home town) or a simple Saturday afternoon meeting at their home. Larry, ever the researcher and writer, wrote numerous articles for the Society’s publications in addition to being a longstanding member of the Publications Committee, vetting articles and helping guide the MBSI’s mission to educate its members and the public.

Although they collected together, it was Larry who travelled the most in search of new instruments. He made frequent trips to the UK and Europe where he befriended top dealers and auctioneers. They, in turn, educated him in the many varieties of machines available, but with time searched him out when a particularly good machine became available. This was how he found so many early machines; sectional comb boxes, overture boxes, and clock bases. But value and rarity weren’t his only drive; the unusual, even the humorous, such as the musical carpet sweeper in this auction, were for him a good reason to acquire something.

Part II of the Myra and Larry Karp collection will be offered in Freeman's | Hindman's April 2025 European Furniture and Decorative Arts auction, followed by Part III in our subsequent The Collected Home online-only auction. Many of the items in these two auctions were written about in the MBSI publications, and where possible this is indicated.