[ Ref. "Imhof & Mukle Orchestrion at Blackpool Tower"

May I add a few details to those previously posted about this once
great orchestrion.

The thin card music was wound into cassettes that resembled those
used on later instruments by Imhof and Mukle themselves, so it is quite
possible that the conversion was done by I&M using later available
components.  What is clear is that much of the information about this
orchestrion is gleaned from record notes and books written forty years
ago when, to be fair to the authors, much less was known about this
sort of instrument.

There is no reason why the manila cassette system should not work,
as it did on new I&M instruments, but the main problem at Birmingham
would have been the variability of handling by attendants.  The music
transport also appeared very slow, presumably to allow very long
selections to be arranged, so any wear in the keyframe would have
a disastrous effect on the card.  It was also one of the widest
I had seen, at over 100 keys to my recollection.

The orchestrion used to stand in the entrance hall of the museum,
directly opposite the doors to the street.  Contrary to John Page's
posting, it was moved to a purpose built music room, elsewhere on the
ground floor, that was separated from the rest of that floor by a glass
screen.  The instruments could therefore be heard in comfort and in
a constant atmosphere.  I heard the orchestrion many times after the
move and felt that this redesign of the museum had been sympathetic
to all of the instruments.

The problem was then to be the redevelopment of the centre of
Birmingham and the building of a fancy modern 'hands on' museum known
as Millenium Point.  To my current knowledge, none of the musical
instruments has been relocated, and on a recent research visit to the
old buildings I saw them still there.

Our sort of museum exhibits do not fit easily into the modern
button-pushing minimum-staff whizz-bang type shows, or at least not
unless you have some imagination.  To see what can be done go to
Triberg in Germany and you can operate most of their orchestrions with
a coin-in-the-slot wall box.

Unfortunately, the powers at Birmingham don't appreciate the wonder
of these instruments for the modern generation and the instruments will
deteriorate unseen.  Worse, the museum authorities are not permitted
to sell anything to allow them to be enjoyed by others.  When I spoke
to him on my visit, the curator expressed a desire to arrange occasional
exhibitions of selected instruments at another location, but I doubt if
these will ever get off the ground.

Also lost are the annual steam rallies held in Newhall Street, right
outside the museum, on Mayday weekend.  The road was filled with
traction engines, showman's engines and vintage cars, and music was
always provided by Bill Hunt's Wonderland organ.  This was a free show
enjoyed by enthusiasts from all over The Midlands.  The traction
engines always used to do a lap of the side streets during the
afternoon.  The museum was open and all the musical and steam powered
exhibits were operational.  There were also exhibits on and around the
canal which flows right past the museum building.

Unfortunately, this part of our heritage is lost forever.  Let's hope
the orchestrion can be resited somewhere appropriate and can be enjoyed
by future generations.

Best wishes,
Nicholas Simons