People have known for centuries that a music box is a great gift. Whether it is for a romantic occasion, such as celebrating an anniversary by giving a music box that plays “your song,” or giving a music box that plays the tune of “happy birthday” to an excited little girl; one can never quite go wrong with this piece of enchanting mechanical history.

A myth surrounding the music box dates back to France with Queen Marie Antoinette, as she loved them and used them for her entertainment and amusement. However, history reveals that the origins of the music box wind back to 1796-early 1800s in Switzerland. A Swiss watch maker from Geneva, Antoine Favre, was surely inspired by the carillon bell towers used in Europe, where a rotating barrel, pinned with cogs in certain positions, would move hammers to strike tuned bells at the proper time to produce music. He replaced the bells with combs of pre-tuned metallic notes, which produce more varied and more precise sounds. Numerous musical objects are produced through these combs.

With what began as tiny musical snuff boxes soon were transformed into wonderful gifts that included not only a pin and revolving cylinder that played music, but some also included drums and bells. Soon when opened, tiny ballerinas would spin to a soft, pleasurable tune or other ceramic dolls and satin fabric would decorate the interior. The music boxes could come in a variety of sizes, including some as big as a large piece of furniture.

In Switzerland, coin-operated music boxes were installed in train stations and amusement parks, each capable of playing a multitude of melodies. These were usually made with the metal disks, an evolution and inevitable replacement of the pin and cylinder. Disks could easily be switched out and replaced with newer versions of music; much like a CD is today. In a sense, these machines were the pre-cursors to the jukebox.