For week 11 of our Kansas sesquicentennial series, as it’s National Music In Our Schools Month—the theme for 2011 is “Music lasts A Lifetime”—we’re taking a closer look at our Swiss Music Box.
Dating back to approximately 1870, this Victorian “entertainment center” consists of a rotating brass barrel with pins which pluck the teeth of a sound-comb to make individual notes. After being in the same family for five generations, Jean McEachron Caldwell gave the music box to the Library in memory of her mother-in-law, Eleanor M. Hartley Caldwell and it is now on permanent display in the Topeka Room. Let us know if you’d like to hear it play and Library staff will give you a demonstration.
About 52 for 150
Every object has a story, and stories build history. To celebrate 150 years of Kansas statehood we’re featuring 52 objects (or collections of related objects)—something new each week throughout the year—from the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library’s 130-year-old special, and permanent collections, that represent our collective state history and cultural diversity.
Our collections are available for teachers, students, researchers and general interest, and we hope this online video program will provide insight into what’s so “special” about Special Collections. Your library’s commitment to collecting art and preserving local history makes it possible for users today and in the future to have immediate access to invaluable research material and cultural artifacts.
To visit the Swiss Music Box anytime during Library hours, or get help finding other books or videos related to this topic, call or stop by the Topeka Room (785-580-4510) on the Library’s second floor. We’re located at the top of the stairs on your left.