Hi group,  Sometimes the next generation(s) can educate themselves;
all they need is a push in the right direction.

For one example, when Pat Metheny did his "orchestrion" project,
suddenly the general public became aware of a "new" word which had not
been in general use in about 75 years, and I daresay that many people
found videos and information pertaining to _actual_ orchestrions, while
doing searches for that Pat Metheny album on Google and YouTube.

Here's another great example of the public becoming incidentally
exposed to the joys of "mechanical music" (in this case coin piano and
orchestrion music):

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXVkwMm5O4o
 

These dudes are at the Musee Mecanique in San Francisco, and have two
coin-operated machines going at once: a horse-riding machine, which
makes relatively little noise (and no music), and an Engelhardt
orchestrion playing M-rolls (which originally was an Engelhardt
Banjorchestra, a long time ago).

As one fellow on the video says, "It's party central right here!"
He's not really being very sarcastic, the group seems to be enjoying
the two-minute tune and display.  I can't blame them, it's a really
snappy mid-period J. Lawrence Cook arrangement (circa 1929), with
snappy drum parts (by P. M. Keast?).

Anyone who can stand through a two-minute tune and at the end exclaim,
"That's a good fifty cents," (even though half of that money went to
the coin-operated horse) has the potential to appreciate, if not
collect, mechanical musical instruments.

I think what is needed is not to stifle the general public with two
much information.  Instruments put out as part of another function or
display, or shown in a museum with a tour guide moving quickly, and
with a snappy repartee, has shown success in the past, and probably
still has the potential to succeed.

Of course, this place succeeds because it is in a busy tourist area
(Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco), it has neat things about which the
public is curious (arcade games, etc.), and is cheap (admission free,
but you have to use your own change in the coin-op machines, change
machines are available), and invitingly displayed in a well-lit
building.

I'm sure that if a couple of other places were started up like this
in other touristy parts of the country, they would do a pretty good
business, as well.  There is only one Musee Mecanique, but there is no
reason that other, further-flung parts of the USA can't have similar
places to cater to those folks who can't get over to San Francisco.

The reason I found this video at all is because the good folks who took
it also took the time to read the information card which is displayed
with the orchestrion, and also because they spelled the word
"Engelhardt" correctly.  (It is often misspelled "Englehardt", so it
helps to search for both words if you want to get the most search hits).

Information cards such as the above, and painstakingly constructed
web sites such as the excellent Mechanical Music Press web site
(or, in the field of non-mechanical music, "Perfessor" Bill Edwards'
ragtime-era music web site, containing plenty of research and
information) will provide the general public with more than enough
information to keep them satisfied, and quite a lot of information for
the serious enthusiast.

Additional information can be obtained through personal interaction
(questions and answers) with other enthusiasts and experts, via both
in-person groups such as AMICA, MBSI, and COAA, and also online forums
such as MMD, the various Yahoo groups pertaining to self-playing
musical instruments, and other internet forums, for example, the
Mechanical Organs forum where enthusiasts discuss fairground organs.

Well-written, informative, Wikipedia entries with good photos, sources
properly cited, and no overly opinionated information, can also assist
those with a budding interest or just a desire to find out more about
these things.  (Wikipedia tends to crack down on articles which show
bias in a certain direction or do not properly cite sources, so by
doing the latter, and not doing the former, one is almost guaranteed to
have their Wikipedia article stay up for a long period of time, unless
someone writes something better or more extensive that is also
un-biased.)

With regard to citing sources, most Wikipedia entries provide space 
for links to related web sites at the bottom of the entry.  That's the 
place to put the links to the really big, or at least pertinent, web 
sites that deal with the history, or technical details, or music, or
whatever, of those instruments.  The general public doesn't always find
the web sites we know and love via Google (although they could if they
knew what to look for), so making sure Wikipedia is up-to-date and
properly linked can be a very useful thing.

I made the mistake of giving a bystander too much information at a
recent band organ rally, and although he was very polite, he did leave
in a hurry.  Too much information is a very good thing in the right
place, which is on public display somewhere where people can readily
search for, find, and access it _at their leisure,_ but when it is the
person right next to you giving you the too much information against
your will, it is not a good thing at all.

I have found that these instruments speak for themselves, and when they
are on display, the less said, the better.  The placards giving basic
information about the instrument will speak for the instruments, and
the owners should make themselves appear friendly and approachable so
that anyone with any further questions will have them promptly and
politely answered.

There is a certain "tipping-point" that most people (except the real
dyed-in-the-wool enthusiasts who love this) have regarding too much new
information, and if you watch for it, you can find it and adjust your
repartee accordingly.  One very brief, and very interesting, anecdote
regarding the instrument never hurts, but a whole bunch of anecdotes
do, unless you're talking to a fellow enthusiast!

If people hear a well-restored, in-tune instrument playing a variety of
music throughout the day, when combined with other activities available
at the event, they will be interested and will enjoy it.  (If multiple
instruments are on hand, they should be placed far enough apart that
they will not cause musical interference with each other, or at least
played in sequence to avoid clashes.)

As long as these people have somewhere else they can go to get away
from the music if they don't like it, they are less likely to heckle
the person who has put the instrument on display.  If a few chairs are
provided for the public to sit and listen (or look, in the case of
table-top instruments), some of them may be inclined to sit down and
stay awhile longer, especially if it is a good event and a nice day.

These are tried and proven methods that I've seen work at the band
organ rallies, and there's no reason they shouldn't work at other
similar events too, so long as the events aren't all about the music.
(If they are, of course the focus _will_ be on the instruments, and
so a different philosophy of showing them off may be adopted.)

And _remember_ (this is the part where you tie a piece of string around
your finger...  Do people even do that anymore?), always have a supply
of brochures on hand for the enthusiasts' organization(s) of your
choice, so that you may promote it at your event, and so those folks
who _do_ stick around and _do_ ask questions and take photos, etc.,
will know where to find you and a lot of other like-minded individuals
(if they have more questions, that is).

Sincerely,
Andrew Barrett