Lightner Museum needs help with their music collection

[Tinfoilphono]

The Lightner Museum in St. Augustine, FL is looking for someone (relatively) local who has wide experience with mechanical musical instruments ranging from phonographs to cylinder music boxes, and on to orchestrions and player pianos to help get their collection into operating condition again.

 

The machines are in relatively good shape, but need cleaning and tweaking so they can be used for demonstration. Most do not have serious damage, but some larger instruments will need more attention (some physical damage to Street Piano and others; missing violin from Orchestrion, etc.).

 

Contact:
Kristen Zimmerman
Collections Manager
Lightner Museum
St. Augustine, FL
kzimmerman@lightnermuseum.org
904.824.2874 x107

[Mlund2020]

A good friend of mine Robert Loeffler of Robert’s Musical Restorations ( https://www.robertsmusicalrestorations.com/  )lives in Deland Florida  (just south of St Augustine) and is one of the best restorer’s in the country for Orchestrions and mechanical music.  He does not do phonographs, but is the best for orchestrions. He has restored many pieces from my collection (including my Wurlitzer Style B Automatic Harp, Popper Orchestrion, Wurlitzer Toniphone, Cremona K, Loesch Orchestrion, Weber Unika, 72 Keyless Wellerhaus Fairground Organ, Wurlitzer Mandolin Quartette, Link A Orchestrion, Hupfeld Orchestrion, Regina  Sublima Piano) many of which are featured on his website. He is the foremost expert on Mills Violano’s. He comes up to work on my instruments a couple times a year and does all of the maintenance work and repairs for Disney World on their mechanical music machines to keep them running. I would suggest that they contact him. His number is 407-234-4747.

[Tinfoilphono]

Thanks so much for that referral. I will definitely pass it along.