Thanks to Bjorn we now know M. Schollaert's first name, August, as well
as something more about him than the little written on the LP jacket of
the 33-1/3 micro groove recording I have of the Becquart Hooghuys organ.
The jacket blurb was written to promote the record rather than to give
any useful historico-technical information about the organ or Schollaert.
It doesn't mention Hooghuys at all, as I recall (I sent the record to
Marc Elbasani, so no longer have it in front of me).

Bjorn's post confirms my suspicion that the fanciful "picture" of the
Becquart organ on the record jacket -- showing a pinned-cylinder machine
with a name-plate saying some such thing as Orchestrion for Prince
Friedrich the Someteenth, with red candy-stripe awning over its front,
having 4 or more double-acting wind pumps activated by ridiculous thin
wires, and with air-resistance speed governors of the sort found in
cylinder music boxes -- has no connection whatsoever with any real
carousel organ.

The jacket credits Schollaert with about half the tunes on the record,
but from what Bjorn writes it seems all the tunes are his arrangements.
Of course a record company that is willing to put a fake picture on a
jacket isn't going to care much about historical accuracy.

It sounds like Bjorn has the makings of a journal article in his head,
especially if he can track down Schollaert's living descendants.  If I
can help him by checking European phone books in one or another city, I'd
be glad to try.  It's a pity that historians get around to these artisans
only after they are dead and gone.

Matthew Caulfield