Some thoughts about the recent subject of cartel musical boxes.  They
were so named because of the origins of their movements in connection
with clocks, particularly wall clocks, then known as cartels.  Little
is known about the exact origin of the word because its original use
in the French language has changed with time and has little in common
with current usage.

Thus, for those clocks with musical movements, the movement itself was
described as a cartel movement -- simply the musical movement fitted
into a cartel (wall) clock.  It is not surprising that, when the
movement was deemed to be more in demand than the clock and cased
separately, it retained the term cartel.

The style of the early cartel musical movements, as found in these
clocks and as separately cased, is typified by having the axis of the
spring motor parallel to that of the pinned cylinder.  The layout of
the early cartel musical movements for clocks differed slightly from
the standard cartel movements that were produced exclusively for the
musical box.  Often the early clock-type ones had combs with bass teeth
furthest from the spring motor.  Standard Swiss and French musical box
movements have bass teeth nearest the spring motor.

Austrian 'cartel' movements, such as those made by Rzebitschek of
Prague, were made with treble teeth closest to spring motor.  They also
are to be found in cases with a pull-cord start mechanism, presumably
because the movements were designed primarily for use in clocks.

The other standard musical movement, typically first used for musical
snuffboxes (tabatières), became known as the tabatière or snuffbox
movement.  The spring motor axis is perpendicular to that of the
pinned cylinder.  Even when not fitted into snuffboxes, the movements
are often described, incorrectly, as snuffbox movements.

A better term, one used typically by Paillard for all these small
movements whether or not used in snuffboxes, is petites musique (small
movement).  The very early form of these cylinder-types had a short
cylinder called a barillet and the layout was different to the later
snuffbox variety.  These 'petites musiques' continued in this form even
when they grew to the size still found today as made by Reuge.

Someone is bound to mention the sur-plateau movement, also fitted into
early musical snuffboxes and other small novelties.  These movements,
using a pinned disc and not a cylinder, had little in common with the
cylinder-type 'snuffbox' movements.  The disc had to await the end of
the 19th century when its cousin, the disc musical box, superseded the
cartel cylinder musical box because of the interchangeable nature and
ease of storage of the discs.

The term is now a common term and clearly defines the type of movement,
having been in use for the past two hundred years.  As for the term
snuffbox/tabatière, it is strictly incorrect if not applied to a
snuffbox.  Even without the useful addition of the word 'type' when
applied to other novelties, it is a well-understood description.

Paul Bellamy