Last Updated: 10/8/2008

     

"The Disc Musical Box Handbook," by Graham Webb and Illustrated by Philip Weston. Published in 1971 by Faber and Faber, London (First Edition). Hard cover with dust jacket, 323 pages with 35 black-and-white photographs and numerous technical line drawings. The book measures 8-3/4 inches (22.2 cm) high by 5½ inches (14 cm) wide.

A Second Edition was published in 1984 by The Vestal Press, Vestal NY, titled "The Musical Box Handbook, 2nd Edition, Volume 2 — Disc Boxes," which contains changes in text and additional Line Drawings by Adrian Little as well as additional chapters as noted in the Contents, below. The Second Edition is soft cover and also measures 8-3/4 inches (22.2 cm) high by 5½ inches (14 cm) wide.

The First Edition contains a list of Polyphon Tune Sheet Titles that is not included in the Second Edition. The Second Edition contains a new chapter on Rust Affected Bed-Plate Assembly that is not in the First Edition.

Text from the dustjacket of the First Edition is as follows:

"Following the success of his first book The Cylinder Musical Box Handbook, described by the Bulletin of the Musical Box Society International as 'the most complete and the best that has ever been published on the repair of the musical box', Graham Webb has now written a companion volume on the disc musical box.

Like its predecessor, the aim of this handbook is to equip the musical box enthusiast with the knowledge of his subject which will not only guide him in the work of cleaning and repairing, but which will help him to buy wisely in the first place. Graham Webb describes the working of a disc box, and gives advice on what to look for when choosing one. He discusses the historical development and decline, rare types of disc boxes, and lists the principal manufacturers and agents, with a fuller history of the 'big three'— Polyphon, Regina and Symphonion. He then describes step by step the procedure for dismantling and cleaning the disc movement, restoring a damaged case, repairing discs, replacing broken teeth and lead resonators, renewing dampers, and making a multitude of small adjustments and repairs. He concludes with a list of types of disc boxes, and two unique features — a list of Polypohon tune titles and some tuning scales for Polyphon, Symphonion and Regina combs.

Graham Webb's text is illustrated with thirty-six photographs and Philip Weston's clear and helpful line drawings."


CONTENTS of the First Edition:
         Acknowledgments
         List of Illustrations
         Introduction

  1. The Disc Musical Box
  2. Development
  3. The Principal Manufacturers
  4. Rare Types of Disc Musical Boxes
  5. How to Choose a Disc Musical Box
  6. Cleaning a Disc Musical Movement
  7. Restoring a Disc Musical Box Case
  8. Care and Repair of Discs
  9. Minor Adjustments and Repairs
  10. Replacing Broken Teeth
  11. Replacing Lead Resonators
  12. Disc Musical Box Dampers
  13. A List of Disc Musical Boxes
  14. Tuning Scales for Combs
  15. List of Manufacturers and Agents
  16. Polyphon Tune Titles

         INDEX


CONTENTS of the Second Edition:
          Acknowledgments
          Notes on the Second Edition
         Introduction
         Translations

  1. The Disc Musical Box
  2. Development
  3. The Principal Manufacturers
  4. Rare Types of Disc Musical Boxes
  5. How to Choose a Disc Musical Box
  6. Cleaning a Disc Musical Movement
  7. Restoring a Disc Musical Box Case
  8. Care and Repair of Discs
  9. Minor Adjustments and Repairs
  10. Replacing Broken Teeth
  11. Replacing Lead Tuning Weights
  12. Rust Affected Bed-Plate Assembly
  13. Disc Musical Box Dampers
  14. A List of Disc Musical Boxes
  15. Tuning Scales for Combs
  16. List of Manufacturers and Agents
  17. An Essential Bibliography

         INDEX


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