Sublime Harmonie Plérodiénique Made by Paullard-Vaucher et Fils, Sainte-Croix, Switzerland c. 1882-1884 The Murtogh D. Guinness Collection Morris Museum

Musical boxes, carousel organs and player pianos are all examples of mechanical musical instruments—machines that produce music.

First made in Europe, early instruments were quite expensive. By the late 19th century, however, their relative affordability put them increasingly into the public and private realm. Mechanical musical instruments made it possible for people to have music on demand, whether tabletop music boxes at home or coin-operated disc music boxes at the local beer hall. Their enormous popularity, however, came to an end around the turn of the 20th century as changing leisure habits and the new phonograph transformed the way people consumed music.

"La Mascotte" (from the opera La Mascotte) Made by Gustave Vichy, Paris, France c. 1885 24"h x 12"w x 12"d The Murtogh D. Guinness Collection

Like mechanical musical instruments, automata—mechanical figures that mimic human and animal behavior, often accompanied by music—emerged out of the European clock-making tradition. In the 18th century, showmen and magicians put handmade French automata on display for enthusiastic crowds who watched them perform and marveled at their life-like movements. Later, people bought automata—which ranged from acrobats that performed routines to small animals that walked across the floor—as amusements for the home. Their popularity peaked in the late 19th century.