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BRUN, Saint-Étienne – c. 1900. Mechanical pub piano, decorat…
See original version (French)
55
-
BRUN, Saint-Étienne – c. 1900. Mechanical pub piano, decorat…
See original version (French)
Estimate €300 - €500
Voluntary lot
Description
BRUN, Saint-Étienne – c. 1900. Mechanical pub piano, decorated with scenes from cabarets within an Art Nouveau cartouche
Polychrome wood, signed ‘Hors Concours’, Brun, 23–25 Cours Victor Hugo, Saint-Étienne (Loire)
H. 147 cm – W. 117 cm – D. 64 cm
A few cracks
Note:
The Brun company epitomises the golden age of mechanical music in Saint-Étienne at the turn of the 20th century, capitalising on a local industrial base renowned for its excellence in small-scale metalworking and precision engineering. Designed to provide entertainment in the cafés, open-air dance halls and drinking establishments of the working-class era, these automatic pianos and orchestrions were intended to cut through the ambient hubbub with their powerful, robust sound. Depending on the model, the mechanism drove perforated paper rolls or folded cardboard sheets, operated manually by a crank, via a pedalboard, or using pneumatic and electric motors. Many of them went beyond the simple upright piano by incorporating a full set of mechanised percussion instruments — drums, bells or triangles — thus becoming veritable fairground attractions. Today, Brun instruments are rare collector’s items and emblematic of the Loire Valley’s folk heritage. Restoring them requires meticulous work, as the air circuits, animal skins and original bellows have suffered greatly from the ravages of time.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
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