Monday, January 6, 2014

Kaleidoscope music box thing (image post, also questions)

See this:


This is on my list of things to get when I'm extremely wealthy and not broke and stuff.

Just one problem.  I don't know what it is.

Oh I've got some idea.  It's a brass kaleidoscope with stained glass:



And a music box:


And apparently it moves to some degree and the those things marking off degrees are in fact so you can change angles, as demonstrated thus:


And finally one just sold on ebay, here.

Here's what I don't know:

Anything that would be useful in getting one if I had the money to do so.
Who made it?
Are they still in business?
Was this a one-off?
Is it part of a set?
Does this style have a name?
Are there others out there?
How old is it?
What music does the music box play?
Will things such as this still exist if I ever reach the status of extremely rich?
So forth.

With a lot of kaleidoscopes you get name of style, name of maker, name of company if different from maker, and date of manufacture.  I'm guessing most music boxes come with information on what music they play.

Here is the information, presented in total and without edits, on the above pictured object:

VINTAGE KALEIDOSCOPE WHEEL STAINED GLASS, BRASS, MOTION MUSIC BOX

And that's it.

Anyone have any idea what it actually is in terms that can be used to identify it.  (I dare you to try to find anything useful by putting THAT into google.)

3 comments:

  1. As to what it is: I got nothin'. And yet I want it, too.

    I used to live out west where I could go to a lot of "rock shops." There were a lot of things I earnestly needed without really understanding why. Like that two-foot-tall split geode set they were using as extremely heavy bookends. Or the septarian concretions (doesn't that sound gross) that looked like a running horse. Or the brass frame? stand? thing? for your chosen rock/fossil/gem/piece of aqua trash that made whatever it was look like an astrolabe or something out of Myst.

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  2. Heavily modified antique transit?

    -midmodan from Slacktivist

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