Stellas were the Swan song for Mermod Freres company.  They were vastly
over-engineered which led to extremely high production costs.  This
ultimately led to bankruptcy for Mermod; they couldn't compete
profitably  in a market dominated by Symphonion, Polyphon, and Regina,
all of whom could produce comparably sized boxes at much lower cost,
most of which, by the way, were musically superior to the Stella
product.  Stellas do have a nice tone quality, but their music arranger
was less talented than that of Regina or Polyphon.

The metal tag affixed to the inner case says Jacot & Sons, Union
Square, NY.  Jacot were the US distributors of Mermod products for the
latter years of the 19th century.  They even published a booklet of
music box repair instructions, and sold repair parts for a variety of
both cylinder and disc boxes.  These parts are such that many of us in
this business today would love to be able to find, including sections
of comb teeth, all manner of gears, screws, tools, pin wire, & what
have you.

Jacot & Sons are best known today for their patented "Jacot Safety
Check" which was a device attached to the large cylinder gear which
prevented a "run" in case the governor gear train was upset.  For this
reason, one almost never finds a Mermod Cylinder music box of the late
period (1885 - 1902) with a stripped cylinder.

As for the Stella, it would bring probably about $2500 - $3500 if a
single comb, and $3800 - $4800 if double comb, assuming in _excellent_
original condition (no broken teeth or corroded lead resonators).
(Actual dimensions would be slightly less than 30" x 30", perhaps
22" x 27" or so.)

However, due to a design flaw, Stellas tend to break the top four or
five treble teeth (in both combs) frequently, and I have only seen one
or two machines which did not have at least a few of them missing.  The
problem occurs when the flat discs (no projections) get wear grooves in
their undersides and the star wheels get caught and jam at a position
where there are no note holes intended.  This instantly snaps off
teeth.

My advice is the lady take or ship her box to an experienced Stella
repairman and let him do a thorough cleaning, lubrication, and
adjustment (like a tune-up for her car).  He can evaluate the condition
of her discs and advise her if she should not play certain ones or all
of them.  New discs are available at reasonable cost from several
sources, and badly worn originals should not be played at all.  If
there are broken teeth, they should be replaced of course by only a
person setup to make the uniquely shaped Stella teeth.

Last time we ordered new discs for a 17-1/4" Stella they were (I think)
about $38.00 each.  The source I always use is Barry Johnson, at Barry
Johnson Music Box Company, in California.

 [ Barry Johnson
 [ 2423-F Old Middlefield Way
 [ Mountain View, CA  94043
 [ tel (650) 964-0685

Regards,

Reg Smith, Sublime Harmony Restorations
196 University Circle, Athens, GA  30605
(706) 543-1920