The Cozy Chicks | Cozy Up To Some Killer Books

A Family Treasure

I’m a little nervous and excited about an errand I have to run today. After almost six months, an antique music box that has been in my family for ages is ready to be picked up. I would consider this box my greatest material treasure, but over time, the casing has literally been falling apart and I knew I had to do something about it now if I wanted to pass it on to my daughter.

You see, all the visible surfaces of this 19^th century beauty are covered in inlay. These minute pieces of wood, delicately carved into scrolls, thin lines, and roses, are made of satinwood and held in place by hide glue. Hide glue is exactly as it sounds: glue made from the fat, tissue, and bone associated with an animal’s hide. As convenient and inexpensive as boiled cow or deer glue was in the 19^th century, this adhesive just doesn’t stand the test of time. As a result, little pieces of inlay have been flaking off the music box since I was little.

Usually, clock repair folks will accept the job of inlay repair, but most folks in my area took one look at the intricate inlay on the music box and passed on the job (but not without warning me of how expensive it was going to be to restore said treasure even if I could find someone willing to squint at bits of wood as thin as paper clips). Last year, I asked a restorationist who performs work for Colonial Williamsburg to fix the box and though it sat in his workshop for three months, he returned it to me untouched, saying that it was just too much for him to tackle with his current workload.

Despairing, I pulled the crank inside the box and let the melody tinkle out into the living room, where the box is proudly displayed. As if by magic, my children and two of our three cats appeared to dance to the silvery, fairy-like strains. (Well, the cats just watched, but the rest of us danced). We stared, entranced, at the eight silver birds strike the eight brass bells, marveling at the musical cylinder as it changed from one song to another. The songs affected me just as they did when I was young and danced around my family’s dining room as though I was a princess doing the waltz.

It’s the most magical thing I own and when I finally found someone capable and willing to restore it, I leapt for joy. Of course, when he called to tell me that it was ready, he also warned me that it wouldn’t look the same as it had.

“I can’t restore 100 years of dust back into the stain,” he cautioned, “So it might be a brighter red than you’d expect – truer to its original hue.”

So I’m nervous. My checkbook is nervous. My kids can’t wait until I bring it back home so we can wind it up and dance. Wish us luck!

Do you have a family treasure? Why is it special to you?

(The photos below show a similar music box for sale on http://www.oneofakindantiques.com/ but it gives you an idea of how difficult the inlay repair would be. Also, this box has eight bells, but no birds to strike them. Sorry, I’m bragging a bit aren’t I?)

12 Responses to “A Family Treasure”

I treasure my Gram’s meatloaf pan. Sounds silly, I know, and not a magical thing like a music box, but it reminds me of my Grandmother who passed away suddenly 14 years ago. I also treasure her percolator, cookie jar and gravy shaker but my mom has dibs and won’t let me have them.

I’ve also inherited an antique friendship ring that was my Nana’s. It was given to my sister who had it sized once but now is too big for her. She gave it to me with the stipulation that my daughter (the ONLY girl in our family) gets it when she gets married. Um, ya, o.k., I’ll just wear it till then. She’s only 10 after all. I wish I knew how to post a picture cause this ring is awesome. It’s flat with a sapphire stone in the middle, diamonds on either side. Classic early 1900’s.

by debbie on February 23rd, 2008 at 10:19 am
What a nice blog topic, JB, and lucky you! That is indeed a beautiful “magic” box in the photos. Hope you have many happy hours fairy-dancing to your newly-restored treasure!

Coming from a long line of packrats (& proudly carrying on the tradition!)I have several family treasures scattered throughout the house. Probably none are as valuable as your wonderful box, but they’re still priceless to me as family heirlooms.

My favorites include my great-grandpa’s Civil War era pistol from when he was a very young boy (he lived to be 101); a porcelain redbird from my paternal grandma’s bird collection (that took up one whole wall in the living room of her shot-gun house in New Orleans); some of my great-aunt’s crocheted piece-work & lace tablecloths; and my great granny’s demitasse coffee & tea set, made of china with a beautiful rosebud pattern. (Still in mint condition, very surprising since she allowed me to play with it even when I was little!)

BTW, have you ever read THE MUSIC BOX MURDERS, by Larry Karp? I read it a few years ago & really enjoyed it. Very interesting plot twists & lots of music box trivia. I love stuff like that!

http://www.larrykarp.com/books/musicbox.html

by Texas Lynn on February 23rd, 2008 at 3:29 pm
Debbie, I’d love to see a picture of your ring—sounds right up my alley!

by Texas Lynn on February 23rd, 2008 at 3:34 pm
How special. I love music boxes. I have a few treasures from family members. One of the special ones is my paternal grandmothers wedding rings. My cousin brought them to me here in Pa. from Nevada when my grandmother passed away. Grandma wanted my daughter to have them. I took them to the jewelry store down the road from us to have them cleaned and repaired ( my grandmother wore them for over 40 years). The jewelry store owner took a long time checking them over and when he came back he said “my dad made these rings.” I said “no, these were my grandmother’s wedding rings, she lived all her life in Nevada.” He showed me a special jewelers mark inside the ring. His dad did in fact make the rings…..How & where my grandfather got them we will never know as the grandparents and all of their children are now deceased. We are originally from the west coast and have only been here for a few years. Who would have ever thought that we would move within a 1/4 mile of where her rings were made…God is awesome!!

by Ealasaid Cameron on February 23rd, 2008 at 5:12 pm
JB, what an awesome treasure to leave to your children. They’ll have their own special memories of the box.

I have my grandmother’s hope chest, a beautiful cedar chest that I can’t bear to part with. When I was little, I would bounce on Grandma’s big feather bed while she put on her Noxema. Then she’d wind up her clock on the cedar chest, say bedtime prayers with me and off I’d go into dreamland. I can’t smell Noxema without picturing that scene.

I’m excited for you, JB. Let us know how it looks.

by Kate on February 23rd, 2008 at 5:43 pm
JB, I’ve been meaning to post on this subject for a day but keep getting interrupted.

To me, the things that are left behind in a life make us remember the past and the people before us. I wish I had my mother’s wooded rocker that they sold at a yard sale when they went to a smaller place. I made my BF bring my antique treadle sewing machine when we moved from Idaho to Illinois. I also have a cracked colbalt blue pitcher that my mom had on our window sill for years as I was growing up.

Nothing worth anything monetarily, but filled with memories.

by Lynn on February 24th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
JB, I can’t wait to hear how your box turned out. You need to post an update for us!

As for me, one of my prized possessions is a floral Nippon vase my grandmother gave to me right after my wedding. I love it. It’s about the only antique I have, though. I covet old pictures, though. Wish I had more of them!

by Heather on February 25th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
Oh, JB, what a sweet story. The music box sounds absolutely precious. Please post a photo when you can.

I think family treasures–whether they are heirlooms or memorabilia–are priceless. I’ve got several pieces of antique furniture from the mid and late 1800’s and several glass pieces which I keep in my dining room china cabinet. And then, there are my late Aunt Ann’s homemade quilts. Folks art, truly. I have always hung several of her quilts on my walls. She lived in the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia and quilted the original old-fashioned way. All hand-stitching and piecing the top, then taking the entire quilt to the local “quilting club” where it was put on a frame and all the ladies sat around and quilted by hand. Every one of those quilts is precious to me, and I’m just thankful I have four daughters to hand them all down to (and now granddaughters).

And I confess, whenever I’m in stores that display quilts I still flip them over to see the backside—-where the truth be told. Handstitching or machine.

by Maggie on February 25th, 2008 at 11:58 pm
JB, I don’t think I have anything as special as you do, but I do have a few things I consider treasures. I recently (Last summer) hit the mother load of family pics from my dad’s side of the family. I find myself finding every excuse I can to avoid giving them back to my father. I also have a pair of miniature oil lamps that my mom had when she was a girl. They still have the original oil in them….And I have a funny story to relate about them if anyone would care to hear it.

I also have my grandfather’s math book. But I have two things that people will have to pry out of my cold, dead hands to get. One is my paternal grandfather’s autograph book from when he was in the service. I never knew him. He died when my dad was 5. But my grandmother told me she wanted me to have it so I got it when she died. The other thing is a picture of my grandmother’s sister. She always used to show it to me when I was little and told me all about her. Now I wish I had listened more closely to the stories. When I was little and my grandmother showed me the picture, I used to tell my mom “She’s my angel.” I think I may have seen her when I was a child. And I’ve always felt closer to her than to any other relative. Anyway, when she died, I told my dad I wanted it, but for some reason, I couldn’t have it even though I knew my grandmother would want me to have it. (I was stupid and didn’t tell them my grandmother wanted me to have it and I did tell them she wanted me to have the autograph book). Well, it took me 6 years to get the pic, and even then, it was a copy. But at least it was the picture. It’s hanging in my room…..looking at me now even as I type this…literally…I swear her eyes follow me everywhere.

by Traci on February 26th, 2008 at 4:57 am
JB,

What a marvelous heirloom… and I’m sure it will be worth every penny. One of my favorite things was one of my mother’s Nancy Drew books — unfortunately, we lent it to another branch of the family (along with all the other Nancy Drew books I’d bought over the years) and they lost them…

by Karen on February 27th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
I’d love to see photos of all these treasures!

The music box came out as well as could be expected. It’s obvious that repairs were done, but that can’t be helped and over time, the markings should blend in. I can’t tell you how wonderful it was to crank it up and dance to it. Both cats watched from under the chairs as my kids and I twirled around the room.

Never mind that they won’t be going to college anymore once I’ve paid the bill for the repiar…

by JB on February 27th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
[...] John W wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptAfter almost six months, an antique music box that has been in my family for ages is ready to be picked up. I would consider this box my greatest material treasure, but over time, the casing has literally been falling apart and I knew I … [...]

by A Family Treasure-music on March 5th, 2008 at 10:52 pm

A Family Treasure

12 Responses to “A Family Treasure”

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