In the 05.06.03 MMD Kim Bunker said:

    > In the thirty-five years I have been rebuilding, brokering,
    > collecting, and selling all types of MMI's my feelings have been
    > that this stuff is not just a hobby, but my life!  My long-time
    > philosophy of this field is that it is like real estate and
    > should increase in value instead of decreasing over time.

Unfortunately, no.  Mechanical musical instruments are, from a financial
standpoint, expensive collectibles, not unlike rare books, autographs,
baseball memorabilia, or rare coins.  Unlike land, or buildings, or
patent rights, or industrial and agricultural commodities, their value
is set strictly by the whims of potential customers.  They cannot be
used to generate further income.

We see much the same price decline in antique automobiles.  While 1964
Ford Mustangs are virtually untouchable due to their high prices and
70's classics like the Barracuda are in the same category, the price of
a beautifully restored Model T Ford has dropped in recent years.  That's
because too much time has passed, and even the grandparents of today's
potential buyers have no personal memory of the car.  Similarly,
mechanical musical instruments are apparently too far removed from
today's collectors' memories to be of much interest now.

There is no satisfactory answer to this.  I grieve for the lost
instruments and for the genius that went into conceiving, building, and
repairing them.  I visualize, as perhaps we all do from time to time,
vast warehouses where old instruments could be stored until their
restoration.

But no.  Like children, time and technical change are unthinking, cruel,
and inevitably triumphant.  Most of us in our youth were likely no
better, impatient for the world to get moving already: out with the old,
in with the new and cool.

Probably our only course is to enjoy the work of restoration, the
fellowship of other restorers, and experience the joy of watching and
listening to the restored instruments.  The future must be left to
chance.

Mark Kinsler