I have spent two days in the shop. What an amazing place. Everywhere I look, some treasure is hiding. Here are some photos of today's finds. This gem was hiding under a bunch of bubble wrap in a bag in a box under more wrapping material and other boxes under a bench. This is why [...]
Author: Brittany Nicole Cox
www.mechanicalcurios.com
Old & New
I was recently offered the post of finishing the work I began on the 1765 George Pyke clock at Temple Newsam House I mentioned in a previous blog entry. You can read about it here.Unfortunately this old path is not the future path. It was extremely difficult to set aside my feelings of attachment to [...]
Bird Box number “.7” : an Update
Well little Pan was sent off to Bonhams yesterday. Unfortunately, he still wasn't quite finished. Previous restoration work rendered the bellows ineffective when the mechanism is placed in the case. I raised the mechanism up a bit by adding little leather washers. Pressure from the lid on the mechanism now makes Pan run slow. I [...]
Mysterious Rochat Box Number “7.”
I have had the recent privilege of working on a very peculiar singing bird box by Rochat. So far my inquiries have not revealed any knowledge of this particular Rochat box. The 18k vari-coloured gold engine turned diamond adorned box houses three gilt mechanisms, including chain fusée and cylindrical bellows for the singing bird automaton, [...]
Sinking Shanty
I thought I would share this rather interesting story, conservation at its best. Watch the the video below to hear the tune played by a 19th century pig, while the RMS Titanic sank to the cold Atlantic floor.