I was called out to Hannibal, Missouri, last week to the Mark Twain
museum to help them remove Samuel Clemens' Aeolian Orchestrelle from
the old WPA-built museum building to the new museum down on Main Street.

The instrument has not played in several years.  They were a bit afraid
to play it since a ceiling fell in on it, causing mountains of dust to
surround it.  For fear of sucking in such dust it has not been played
since then.  It also had several ciphers or notes that played all the
time.  Before we dismantled it I tried playing it and found the ciphers.
When I reattached some tubes that had fallen off, the ciphers stopped
and I played several things on it.

This is the largest Orchestrelle model they built and it is said that
Sam Clemens went to the factory to okay the voicing of it because he
wanted to make sure it sounded like a pipe organ.  It is a fine-sounding
thing, even though it did not all play, suffering from the ravages of
time.  While dismantling it we found many screws missing.

It had been moved several times before 1930 when it was donated to the
museum.  Sam Clemens' daughter convinced him to buy this instrument in
1903-4 after his wife's death and playing the music was said to have
been some comfort to him and his family.  The voicing mark we found
inside noted a November 1903 date and a signature by A B Chase.  It sat
in Mark Twain's Connecticut house until after his death in 1910.

We found the condition of the Orchestrelle to be good restorable but
all leather is original and turning to powder with the slightest touch.
The tubing had been replaced in the 30's but most of it shattered when
we disconnected it for removal of parts.

The whole thing had to be taken down to a size that would go through
a normal doorway.  The main chassis had to come out of the beautiful
case for it to all be moved a couple of blocks away.  It pained me to
dismantle it and reassemble it without restoring it in the process, but
the museum has not raised money for the restoration project and has not
yet received permission from the Missouri State Historical Society to
have the work done.  (That entity owns the organ on permanent loan to
the Mark Twain Museum.)  They hope to get this permission in the next
few months and they will begin fund raising when it is received.

If you feel you can afford to donate toward the restoration of this
piece of American literary/music history, please send a check to Regina
Faden or Henry Sweets at the Mark Twain Museum, 120 N Main St.,
Hannibal, MO 63401.  Designate your donation to go to the organ
restoration fund and it will be a tax deduction for you, of course.

The old museum building will be torn apart for complete update this
winter and it will be reopening next spring for tourists.  It is
attached to the house where Sam Clemens grew up and that is the house
described in "Tom Sawyer" as Aunt Polly's house.  Across the street
from this house can be found Becky Thatcher's house described in the
books.  His father's Justice of the Peace office is also there and it
served as the model for the courtroom depicted in the Tom Sawyer book.

You may investigate the museum further by going to
  http://www.marktwainmuseum.org/

A picture of the Orchestrelle at
  http://www.marktwainmuseum.org/boyhoodhome.html

The new location of the Orchestrelle is
  http://www.marktwainmuseum.org/NewMarkTwainMuseum.html

A recollection of the Orchestrelle during Twain's life
  http://www.twainquotes.com/howden.html

The director of the museum has great plans for public performances
on the Orchestrelle once it is restored.  While we worked there were
busload after busload of children and adults going through the museums
and they need to all hear the Orchestrelle play someday on a regular
basis.

D.L. Bullock    St. Louis
www.thepianoworld.com