I would like to share with MMDers an item which appeared in
a Scottish periodical at the time the MBSI annual convention was
taking place recently in Rockville, Maryland:

https://www.scottishfield.co.uk/culture/bid-to-raise-60000-to-save-castles-rare-instrument/ 

For those who don't want to wade through the entire article, readable
though it is, it is about the precarious situation facing a unique
Imhof & Mukle orchestrion, located in Kinloch Castle on the Isle of
Rum, Scotland.

This instrument, thought to have the largest scale ever found in an
Imhof & Mukle orchestrion, is in desperate need of restoration, and
is the subject of a fundraising campaign currently underway.  It was
featured at the MBSI convention in one of the workshops (mentioned
in the article) and a generous donation was received towards its
restoration from an MBSI member before the end of the convention.

For those interested in history, the orchestrion's first owner,
English industrialist George Bullough, owed much of his vast fortune
to an American invention for which his father bought the patent rights.
Much later, the Bulloughs' firm was the first British firm one to have
a direct investment in the USA through incorporating and setting up
a manufacturing operation there in the 1890s.

It is good to know that the mechanical music community is truly
international, and there are folks out there committed to the
preservation of these amazing machines and willing to assist in
whatever way they can. However, the total needed is estimated to be
£60,000 GBP, so the appeal needs a lot more publicity -- and support.

It is possible to donate specifically for the orchestrion's restoration,
and by-pass the more general appeal to save its location (an Edwardian
hunting lodge) which will require much greater funding, by contacting
the organisers via:

kcfasec@gmail.com.geentroep [delete ".geentroep" to reply] (secretary
of the Kinloch Castle Friends Association) or
jr.corrie@gmail.com [delete ".geentroep" to reply] (Treasurer KCFA)

A number of videos of the orchestrion in play can be found on the
internet by searching 'Kinloch orchestrion' or similarly relevant
phrases.  This one includes some lovely shots of the location, as
well as the instrument itself:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPYsROXyPCM 

Enjoy it while you can!

Alison Biden, MBSGB