[ This article was previously published in 090430 MMDigest.  It is
 [ repeated today because I just now fixed the link to the web page at
 [ http://www.mmdigest.com/Gallery/Auctions/Chartres0905/index.html 
 [ where you can download the auction catalog as a PDF document.
 [ My apologies to Galerie de Chartres and Philippe Rouille for this
 [ delay.  For this auction there is no English text, sorry.  -- Robbie

Dear MMDs,  The traditional auction of mechanical music and automatas
will take place in Chartres (1 hour from Paris, France) on Sunday May
24th.  Ca. 150 items are for sale:

- About 40 good automatas and some singing birds in cage or tabatières,
by Bontems, Decamps, Phalibois, Renou, Vichy (a clown with an umbrella,
acrobats), etc.

- Many items in mechanical music, amidst them:

= Two portable barrel organs, one by Kamenik and another one by Bruder
Söhne, dated Sept 16th 1900 on the tune sheet;

= A small vertical piano in the Hicks manner, a small barrel piano,
and a Swedish Andersson barrel piano;

= A 73 notes piano melodico;

= Several perroquettes, serinettes and organettes;

= A large and good orchestral musical box on a table with six 36 cm
cylinders;

= many various musical boxes (disc or cylinder) and a rare carillon
musical picture clock;

= A large "Voix célestes" musical box;

= Many musical novelties (albums, tiles, etc.);

- Some fairground artifacts and phonographs;

- Related books, documentation, etc.

The catalogue in French will be posted at the beginning of May on
a French auction web site: http://www.interencheres.com/28001 

All inquiries should be directed only to the auction house, Galerie de
Chartres, at <chartres@galeriedechartres.com>

Their complete address, telephone, fax, etc. is on the "News" section
of the web site musicamecanica at
http://www.musicamecanica.org/musica_mecanica/a/actu/index.html 

Denis Lambotte is the new consultant in charge.  He is a friend, and
very knowledgable.

You may look at the Chartres catalogues with the realized prices these
last years on the MMD web site at
http://www.mmdigest.com/Gallery/Auctions 

I wish you all a fine day!  Best regards,
Philippe Rouillé
Paris, France
http://www.musicamecanica.org/