Dear group, while performing at the West Coast Ragtime Festival a
couple of weeks ago, I was approached by a ragtime fan who wanted to
let me know that Knott's Berry Farm, in Buena Park, California, is
apparently auctioning some of their automatic musical instruments this
December, 2016, and January, 2017.

I remember seeing some of these instruments on display at Knott's from
my first visit there (circa 1992) to the last time I visited circa
January 2013.

Of course, many more instruments were out there on display (and
playing!) in the early 1990s than were still on public display in 2013
(and according to friends, still more were on display from the 1950s
through the 1980s which I never got to see), but even at the late date
of 2013 they had probably at least seven or eight instruments there
in the Ghost Town Museum, Judge Roy Bean saloon, Bird Cage Theatre
lobby, the Carousel building, and calliope wagon (adjacent to the
theatre), although by then none except the hand-played calliope were
in playing order.

When I got home, I couldn't remember the name of the person who told me
about the auction, so I did a Google search and sure enough, it turns
out that Knott's will be auctioning some of their instruments and
other ephemera with bidding opening approximately December 15, 2016,
with apparently some ability offered to bid online or over the phone.
The actual auction proper is tentatively scheduled for the week of
January 23, 2017, and according to the site as of today "A final
[auction] date is yet to be determined."

Here is the URL of the web page dealing with the auction.  Please
bookmark it and come back since they've promised to post updates and
links there in the near future:

  https://www.knotts.com/knott-s-berry-farm-the-auction

Here is an article about the auction in the Orange County Register
newspaper:

  http://www.ocregister.com/articles/park-728468-knott-theme.html

According to the website (directly copied from their question &
answer section), "Items will range from historic signs, antiques,
important theme park vehicles, player pianos, vintage coin operated
machines, photography and much more."

As a younger collector who loves these machines, I am specifically
personally interested in buying two of the instruments I saw there
in the past, if they are in this auction (or, less likely, maybe three,
four or five, depending upon the prices and my budget) and depending
upon the amount of the starting bids, I will submit some bids up to my
budget limit, after which the bidders with deeper pockets will likely
take over (or maybe I'll actually win something, who knows?!).

I am not affiliated with the auction company or Knott's, and am posting
this notice here on MMD so that as many people and potential bidders
can see it as possible, and at least some of whom will hopefully bid.

I would love to see these instruments go to good homes where they will
be restored, and perhaps maybe even one or two will find their way back
to a public venue somewhere else where they can again be enjoyed by
visitors!

Please tell all of your mechanical music friends about this auction,
especially anyone still buying / interested in buying, and especially
those not members of MMD and/or without internet, who might not
otherwise have heard about this, and may want to buy something.

Sincerely,
Andrew Barrett
Costa Mesa, California

P.S.: I hope all or most MMDers had a Happy Thanksgiving!