Regarding Mr. Sachnoff's post about values [000925 MMD], I refer him
to my relevant posts of January 23 and January 27, 2000 which are found
in the MMD archives.

As an update to those posts I would personally say that the current
market for music boxes, nickelodeons, orchestrions, and band organs is
quite good!  The nationally advertised recent Bovey auction in Montana
yielded record prices.  For example at the Bovey auction an unrestored
Seeburg L cabinet nickelodeon brought $17,000.00!  The little
unrestored B.A.B. organ at the sale did very well too.  In another
recent internet auction, an unrestored Wurlitzer violin-flute Pianino
brought $20,000.00.  Rolls for the Pianino are bringing $50.00 apiece.
A local antique dealer in the Chicago area is selling refinished and
playing basic A-roll pianos to "Yuppies" for about $13,000.00 each.

I recently visited a music box store in an exclusive gift shop area
which is selling basic Regina 15-inch music boxes for three times the
going collector rate!  They told me that they are selling a number of
them.  For the most part the buyers are new enthusiasts.  I could fill
this column with more examples!

Sure there are instruments that are slow sellers.  For the most part
these are the same slow sellers that existed 30 years ago.  There are
areas where the local market is soft.  There are reasons for this;
the prime reason is the lack of regional or local promotion.

For example, at one time in the late 1960's and 1970's California was
the hottest area for collecting nickelodeons, orchestrions, and band
organs.  California collectors were paying more than anyone else in the
country.  This was primarily due to the market influence of the firm of
Hathaway & Bowers and the later American International Galleries.

Mr. Bowers, an astute historian and market maker, wrote articles and
books, advertised extensively, and promoted the instruments heavily
with the main impact being felt in California.  He created the demand
and supplied the instruments.  Mechanical instruments by the hundreds
were moved from other parts of the country and Europe to California.

I can still remember the "electric jolt" I felt while looking at an
instrument and being told by the owner that he just received a call
from a "California Collector" who had just offered "the moon" for it.
The social notes section of the AIG catalogs really capture the
enthusiasm of the time.  Then Mr. Bowers moved to New Hampshire and
the California collecting "flywheel" of interest slowed down.  It is as
though Mr. Bowers took his foot off of the collecting gas pedal in
California.

When California was slowing, the Midwest, particularly Chicago, was
heating up.  In fact, I actively encouraged the collecting of the major
Chicago area collectors.  As interest in California waned, many
California instruments, such as the Jerry Cohen collection which I
sold, came to the Midwest.  Concurrently, in Ohio, the late band organ
enthusiast, Dan Slack, stirred up the band organ market by introducing
the band organ rally to MBSI.  He sold a number of band organs to eager
collectors.  Soon the band organ rallies almost eclipsed the MBSI
national conventions!  The Slack "flywheel" of enthusiasm fueled by
ongoing band organ rallies is still spinning in Pennsylvania, Ohio,
Michigan, and Indiana to this day.

What does all this mean?  It means that interest in mechanical music
has to be constantly stirred.  When interest is stirred, demand is
increased and the value rises.  If enthusiasm is low in your area, then
ask what can you or your MBSI or AMICA Chapter do to stir things up to
expose the instruments to new people.  It is simply not going to happen
by itself!  For example, recent band organ rallies in California have
stimulated a demand for band organs.  Organizations such as AMICA,
MBSI, FOPS, MMD, COAA, must take a leading role in this promotional
effort.

Both AMICA and MBSI have recently lost members.  Both organizations
should take a hard look at this and should immediately begin promoting
the instruments to people outside their membership.  And then they
should provide mechanical music books, catalog reprints, and
restoration information to their new members like Vestal Press once
supplied to new collectors.

A valuable opportunity was lost at the recent MBSI convention in San
Jose, California by not reaching out to the population in the Silicon
Valley through press releases and media exposure inviting them to the
convention mart, exhibition room, or organ rally.  How will these people
ever get interested IF they do not know such items exist?  After all
mechanical music is still a well kept secret!

Active and ongoing promotion of mechanical music is key.  Probably
the most cost effective way to expose mechanical music to large numbers
of people would be for one of the societies to produce a history of
mechanical music on video to be given for free use on all public
television stations.  Such a video would refer in the credits the
viewer to various society websites.  I believe that the impact of such
a video would tremendous!

Again going back to the Bovey auction.  Nationwide advertising of the
auction produced the sale of a $17,000.00 unrestored Seeburg L proving
once again that exposure and promotion works!  But then you can't make
everyone happy because soon there will be complaints that mechanical
music is no longer affordable!

Tim Trager