As an example, 20 years ago I bought my 2nd Orchestrelle, which I still
have, =L=225 (about $350).  It had not worked from a music roll for 30
years, having been hand played in a local church all of that time.  It
had not been fiddled or botched, indeed it had been maintained(!) by
Davies organ builders of Northampton.

I had them come and look at the instrument -- the quote scared me off:
over =L=2000 ($3,000).  I therefore spent over 400 hours stripping it
down and renewing what I could myself with advice from them.  I worked
only a mile from their workshop and took parts in for them to do that
were beyond my expertise (I had never done one before), such as rolling
the thread onto new phosphor-bronze valve stems.

It still cost over =L=1,500 and obviously would have exceeded the
original estimate by a factor of double so I was glad to have done my
bit.  I had been advised at the start that the organ would be worth the
value of the work done, forgetting the purchase cost, so only bother if
I was keeping it.

This is why the Orchestrelle is the best bargain in mechanical music and
always will be in my opinion, having cost =L=350 when it was new in 1898.
What does that equate to in today's money?

I still have Orchestrelle rolls for sale, _new_ and original.  Only 130
of the _new_ piano rolls from Laguna, Duo-Art and 88-note, are left now.
Please ask for list.

Kevin McElhone, Northampton, UK