The restoration of a 20th-century Griesbaum Singing bird box.

The box was received in a typically aged condition.  It was fundamentally complete, however, the condition of the gilding on the box was very worn, and the bird was in quite some need of attention.

The box was cleaned and re-gilded as per original.  The movement was stripped down, checked, repaired, and all parts cleaned before being reassembled, lubricated and adjusted.

The bellows were in good condition and only required adjustment to the spill valve and spring for them to work.

The bird was feeling a little sorry for itself, having lost its eyes, its tail and most of its plumage.  I began by removing what was left of the old feathers before cleaning the bird shell.  The action of the wings was then corrected.  The tail was made from brass and fitted before the movement was adjusted.  The bird was then fully re-feathered which involves hours of trimming minute feathers and individually glueing them on.  The eyes were made from brass with a small enamel dot in the centre.

Quite some time was taken to adjust the bird's movements and birdsong to give the best performance.

A rather pleasing restoration to carry out.