This letter will serve to bring members of the MBSI up-to-date with developments surrounding one of the subjects I included in my workshop at the 2019 convention in Rockville?  Those who were present may remember my talking about the precarious future of a rare Imhof & Mukle orchestrion which had been installed under the stairs in Kinloch Castle, an Edwardian-era hunting lodge on the Scottish Island of Rum.  Not only was the orchestrion (often referred to, albeit erroneously, as ‘Queen Victoria’s Orchestrion’) deteriorating, but the entire castle, which had been left to the state by its last private owner, was in danger of falling into ruin. A charitable organization, the Friends of Kinloch Castle Association, was hoping to raise enough funds to rescue both the castle and its contents. 

Following the impact of Covid on tourism, and the restrictions on movement generally, it has been decided by the owner (Scottish Nature – the equivalent of the English National Trust) to put it up for sale.  This has been reported widely in the British press, although reports vary as to whether the asking price is a nominal £1 (GBP) or a modest £70K.

This is an opportunity for someone to own a piece of Scottish heritage – as well as a fine mechanical musical instrument – although any would-be purchaser is advised that the orchestrion requires repairs last estimated at £50,000, and the ‘castle’ requires several million spent to restore it.

Hopefully this link will still work, although no doubt it will be possible anyway to learn more by searching ‘Kinloch Castle’ on the internet:

One hopes a benefactor will come forward so the orchestrion, if not the castle, may be saved.

Kind regards

Alison Biden, Musical Box Society of Great Britain, Vice-President

Kaoru Ishikawa offers the following piece of music she arranged. She hand-punched the music strip, something similar to the table favors that were provided at the MBSI annual meetingheld in Rockville, Maryland.  

She says “From the second chorus, I’m turning the handle at a very high speed. It is the real thrill of a hand-cranked music box.”

Interested in seeing who won awards at the MBSI Annual Meeting in Rockville, MD? Well, now you can find out by clicking the link above and viewing the PDF presentation for yourself.

MBSI is pleased to announce the availability of a new book you may wish to add to your mechanical music library. There are many volumes about the history of musical boxes made in Switzerland, Germany, and France, but that is not all of the story. There was also a thriving industry producing quality musical boxes in the nineteenth century in the Austrian Empire. Information about those instruments, particularly for English speakers, has been much harder to come by.

We are pleased to announce that an important work on this subject, previously only available in German, has been released in a revised and updated English language edition. It is Musical Boxes from Prague and Vienna by Dr. Helmut Kowar, issued by the Austrian Academy of Sciences Press. Several organizations financial contributions have made this possible. The Musical Box Society International and the Musical Box Society of Great Britain jointly funded the printing cost. Translation was funded by two foundations, the Franz-Josef Mayer-Gunthof Wissenschafts und Forschungsstiftung and the Stiftung Familie Philipp Politzer.

The volume is generously sized at approximately 8¼ x 11 ¾, runs 246 pages, is generously illustrated and includes an extensive catalog of known instrument examples. It is currently available from the Academy at https://verlag.oeaw.ac.at/musical-boxes-from-prague-and-vienna. (Note the icon at the upper right of the webpage that makes an English language version of the web page available.) Dr. Kowar has informed us that the Academy will be making the book available on Amazon as well.

Interested in seeing who won awards at the MBSI Annual Meeting in Detroit, MI? Well, now you can find out by clicking the link above and viewing the PDF presentation for yourself.

James Dundon has launched a 24/7 online website playing mechanical music. He says, “It’s a project I’ve been working on for sometime, and last night I hit the button and put it live. At the moment it’s in ‘test transmission’ stages playing continuous music. It’s actual launch will be this Sunday 1st April at 9 am. Please can you help me spread the word. Share news about this to anyone you think might be interested. You can find out all about the station and tune in now.
“We are on Facebook and Twitter under ‘Mechanical Music Radio.’ Also you might be able to help me with some music. I’m looking for iconic instruments from around the world. If you have a CD you have released, or a personal recording you’re particularly proud of, please be in touch. You can post, wetransfer or dropbox the audio to be for broadcast. Email mechmusicradio@outlook.com.”
Tune into the radio station at http://www.mechanicalmusicradio.com/

Watch as this wonderful Welte Philharmonic Organ, restored by MBSI member Durward Center, shows its stuff.

A few technical details may be slightly askew, but journalist Harriet Baskas takes you on a tour of the new exhibit that is part of the Murtogh D. Guinness Collection at the Morris Museum.

A local New Jersey television station provided video coverage available to view below.

How a music box works – basics