Over the next year Art Reblitz and I, and, in a separate project with

Terry Hathaway, hope to bring to the hobby a lot of new information

on coin-operated pianos, orchestrions, photoplayers, and related

instruments.  Here are some thoughts and observations, in no particular

order:



One challenge we all have is attracting new people to the hobby.  I was

guest speaker at the AMICA meeting in Massachusetts on November 7th.

Nice meeting, nice group of perhaps 25 people or so, but most people

were of retirement age or nearing so.



Automatic musical instruments are basically _interesting._  As most

MMDers are aware, to know them is to love them.  Having more people

join the hobby is an effort that can tap many resources.  As I see it,

in the United States the MBSI and AMICA can continue their good work,

plus developing ideas to attract members.



Time was when the Vestal Press was a focal point for the hobby.

Harvey and Marion Roehl used the "Vestal Press House Organ" and their

many reprints and books to spread the word.



Time was when Bill Edgerton had a walk-in showroom in Connecticut,

Ruth Bornand had a house full of music boxes that could be seen and

heard in Pelham, New York, and I and partners (Terry Hathaway and

Bonnie Tekstra) had showrooms with Hathaway & Bowers and American

International Galleries.  With the latter we had special events,

receptions, and the like.



Time was when a lot of automatic musical instruments that are expensive

today were inexpensive.



Time was when restoration was fairly inexpensive.



Time was when automatic musical instruments (admittedly in various

states of restoration and/or tuning) were in many public museums and

attractions, including Knott's Berry Farm, Disneyland, Svoboda's

Nickelodeon Tavern, Paul Eakins' Gay Nineties Museum, Zimmerman's

museum (Hollidaysburg, PA), Bellm's Cars and Music of Yesterday, Walt

Disney World, Musical Museum (Deansboro, NY), and others.



----



Today, in 2009, there is no equivalent of the Vestal Press.  There are

no showrooms that one can visit and possibly buy anything from a Regina

music box to a Mortier orchestrion, from a Welte cabinet piano to a

Fotoplayer.  Restoration is expensive, due to increased cost of labor

and other expenses.  The past is past.



However, there are indeed many advantages in 2009:



The Internet makes it possible to communicate instantly with other

collectors, to view images of items for sale or otherwise of interest,

and, with YouTube, to hear a Style 45 Fotoplayer, or a Paganini

orchestrion, or a Seeburg H, or a Welte Concert Orchestrion, and see

them at the same time.



Many prices are cheaper today that they were 30 years ago.  This

includes most Ampico, Duo-Art, and Welte reproducing pianos, player

pianos of all sorts, player pipe organs, and most basic coin-operated

pianos (such as those that take "A" rolls).



There are more _great collections_ today than ever before, and many of

these feature instruments that are superbly restored.  Many owners of

these make them available for AMICA, MBSI, and other meetings.



There are more recut rolls available today, and reasonably priced,

than ever before -- ranging from reproducing pianos to Wurlitzer 165 to

Philipps Paganini.  New arrangements are available on some roll types

as well.



The depth, breadth, and quality of content of the MBSI Mechanical Music

and the AMICA Bulletin are better today than ever.



We are all very lucky to be part of the world of automatic musical

instruments.



Dave Bowers