The Nemours Mansion and Gardens of Wilmington, Delaware, recently
prepared its "Marie Antoinette" musical tall case clock for journey to
a very special, temporary exhibition to take place at The Metropolitan
Museum of Art in New York City.  This rare clock, circa 1785, plays an
organ and a dulcimer combined, with music from Gluck provided by
interchangeable, brass cylinders.

The case was made in the workshop of the famous German cabinetmakers
Roentgen, who catered to the French Court, amongst others.  The clock
itself and portions of the musicwork are from the hand of Peter Kinzing
of Neuwied, Germany.  The musical mechanism was restored by my brother,
Jere Ryder, with Arthur W.J.G. Ord-Hume in 1997, and ever since then
this clock has served as the musical show-stopper on the regular tours
at Nemours Mansion ( http://www.NemoursMansion.org ).  Here is a video
of the clock being prepared for shipment:

  http://www.delawarebeaches.com/videonetwork29/1886675486001 

And here is a slide-show of same:

  http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=BL&Dato=20121008&Kategori=PHOTOS01&Lopenr=210080802 

The special exhibition at the Metropolitan, running October 30, 2012
through January 27, 2013, is entitled, "Extravagant Inventions: The
Princely Furniture of the Roentgens," and it shall feature some of the
most extravagant works by Abraham Roentgen (1711-1793) and his son
David (1743-1807).  An announcement of the upcoming exhibition can be
found here:

  http://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-museum/press-room/exhibitions/2012/extravagant-inventions 

Recordings of the clock from Wilmington and of two other musical clocks
in the exhibition will take place at brief intervals throughout the
day.  MMD-ers may also take special interest in the highly crafted
mechanical contrivances that were built into even the Roentgens'
non-musical, masterpiece works.

If you plan a trip to see this exhibition, the Metropolitan's Musical
Instrument galleries should also not be missed.  Featured there is a
what may well be the earliest mechanical  musical instrument to be
found anywhere on American soil: a musical clock by Viet Langenbucher,
c.1625, containing an organ and spinetino and featuring dancing
figures.

Steve Ryder - AutaMusique, Ltd.
Summit, New Jersey