“Polyphon Style No. 46” Disc Musical Box Made by Polyphon Musikwerke, founded just before 1890 in Leipzig, Germany c. 1908-1914 Dimensions: 17 5/8 x 12 ½ x 12 ¾ inches (open) The Murtogh D. Guinness Collection Morris Museum

This lovely carved walnut tabletop disc musical box opens to display a panoramic scene featuring a castle regally set atop a scenic mountain in Germany. The device plays 9 ½ inch discs with a single comb mechanism. In 1892, one of Polyphon's founders, Gustave Brachhausen, established the Regina Music Box Co. in Rahway, New Jersey. Regina originally sold musical boxes imported from Polyphon and later produced its own musical boxes by the autumn of 1894. Ultimately, Regina became America’s dominant maker of disc-type boxes, selling about 100,000 instruments between 1894 and 1921. Today, Polyphon, Regina and Symphonion are sometimes referred to as the "big three.”

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