A large wooden-framed case with theatre front covered by a fringed curtain contains a performance activity to accompany its grand music. After coins are inserted, the curtain rises and five bisque dolls twirl around. The musical movement, featuring six saucer bells and a drum with eight beaters, contains double-springs, a nickel-plated cylinder and Sublime Harmonie combs of 47 and 44 notes respectively. There is a coin-drawer below for collection of the coins.
Historical References: Railroad travel was well established throughout Switzerland by the late 19th century, and, much like the scene in today's airport terminals, activities were introduced to railroad stations that would simultaneously entertain the waiting passengers and make a tidy profit. Auguste Lassueur of Ste-Croix, Switzerland, hit upon the notion of placing mechanical musical objects in the waiting rooms on the Jura-Simplon Railway Co. in Switzerland - whose sound and motion could only be heard, of course, with the use of a coin. He commissioned works from several musical box makers in Ste-Croix, most notably Alfred Junod-Turin. The Lassueur creations were of several designs including a musical carousel and this dancing theatre of dolls. Circa 1890.