| NOTES |
![An Ekco U29 Bakelite Radio [9K]](ekco_u29.jpg) |
![Music box mechanicals by Lador [20K]](player.jpg) |
| Ekco Model U29 from 1946 |
Musical Inards |
This little musical box is housed in a cabinet reminiscent of sets from a number of radio manufacturers including Ferguson
and Alba, however it is clearly modelled directly on the Ekco U29 that had been released in 1946. It is clearly a childs
toy with the tuning scale showing "station" names such as "Land of Nod", "Toytown", "Wonderland",
"Santaland", "Fairyland", and such like.
Inside is a crude piece of wood to which is attached a clockwork musical mechanism along with a small bulb with battery
connections to suit. The cabinet itself is in a white translucent material with most of the insides painted white ;
some areas seem to have been deliberately left unpainted, presumably allowing the orange glow of the bulb to shine through
.The cyclinder (illustrated top-right) houses the clockwork spring and attaches directly to the left hand control at
the front of the cabinet. The right hand control operates a lever that plays / stops the musical mechanism and the center
control is simply screwed in place and performs no function.
The clockwork mechanism's casting bears the makers marking "Lador, 1948, Switzerland", which I suspect is
The Lador Music Box Company, a company founded in 1889 by Adrian Lador and manufactured various musical boxes right
up until 1985, at which point they were bought by a company called Reuge..
|
![Front view of music box [31K]](front.jpg)
![The mechanical assembly [20K]](mechanics.jpg)