The Capital “Cuff”

Is it a Cylinder or Disk Music Box?

Perhaps the most unique music box ever created, with an intriguing backstory, dating to the early 1890’s. At that time, Polyphon Musikwerke of Germany decided to manufacture music boxes in the U.S., as the import duties then in place were limiting their sales. They sent Gustave Brackhausen to America with a mandate to begin manufacturing as soon as possible. Brackhausen set up shop in New Jersey and initially manufactured to Polyphon’s designs, and quickly moving to newer more “Americanized” designs, which became the Regina lineup. 

As luck would have it, he lived in a house across the street from Frederick Otto, who, together with his sons, ran a successful manufacturing company specializing in surgical instruments. Brackhausen and Otto, as neighbors, shared a social life and bragged to one another of their respective commercial successes.  Otto, however, cleverly learned from his new friend the many aspects of music box manufacture, and decided to have a go of it himself. 

To avoid patent infringement issues, he and his sons designed a new type of music box, a sort of hybrid of cylinder and disk movements, which they named the Capital brand name. The tapered music sheets looked similar in size and shape to the removable cuffs that gentlemen used on their dress clothes. Thus, the term Capital Cuff music box has stuck with these pieces to this day.

The neighborly relationship now past history, Otto and Brackhausen entered into a long and litigious period, with Regina emerging the victor. Capital music boxes were only produced and sold for about two years (1895-1896).