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MMD > Archives > August 1995 > 1995.08.21 > 03Prev  Next


Re: Music Box Restoration
By Larry Smith

> Any idea where I can get the inside of an old music box worked on and
> restored?  Please give me a reply.  Thanks

Well, I can take a crack at two.  I now know of two places
that can do a quality restoration of a music box.  The Musical
Wonder House in Wiscasset, Maine, has an associated restoration
shop that can do museum-quality restorations.  They are not at
all cheap, but from the folks I've talked to, they are arguably
one of the best.  They can do both case work and mechanism.  I
have a piece in with them getting restored now, a nice little
orchestral box, and I will report on them again when I get it
back, hopefully before Thanksgiving.  The other place, which I've
just discovered myself, is Panchronia Antiquities, run by Nancy
Fratti, lately discussed here.  I know they do mechanism restor-
ations (I discussed that with Nancy) I would assume, but I don't
know for sure that they do case restorations as well.  From talk-
ing with Nancy, I have an impression of an outfit that aims to
provide a good _sounding_ restoration, with less emphasis on the
cosmetics, and therefore probably quite a bit cheaper than the
Musical Wonder House.  Panchronia Antiquities address is Rt. 4
PO box 210, Whitehalll, NY 12887-0210  518-282-9770.  The Musical
Wonder House is POB 604 - 18 High St.  Wiscasset, Maine 04578,
(207) 882-7163 or (207) 882-6373 and is run by Danilo Konvalinka.

Bob Conant, who knows Nancy and Panchronia much better than I,
wrote to this list on 16 Aug 95 18:40:49 PDT, saying:

> Incidentally, the lady's name at Panchronia Antiquities is Nancy Fratti. She
> is a very highly skilled music box restorer and every two years, in the
> summer, she offers several week long classes on music box restoration. The
> participants bring their own music box with them and work on it during the
> classes. This is an intense course and involves learning and using machine
> tools.

regards,¶
Larry Smith

(Message sent Mon, 21 Aug 95 10:45:51 -0400 , from time zone -0400.)

Key Words in Subject:  Box, Music, Restoration

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