May I announce that "Das Mechanische Musikinstrument" No. 138 is on
its way to our valued members. This issue is very wide ranging --
I personally translated to German the Norwegian website of Harald
Sakshaug and his co-authors on barrel-organs from Steinkjer.  For
English readers this website is available in English:
http://www.steinkjerpositiv.com/default.html 

A very interesting story about musical clocks and other musical
automatons from Berlin was delivered by Silke Kiesant from "Stiftung
Preussischer Kulturbesitz", a widely known German foundation.  The
orchestrion part was done by Joachim Petschat, chairman of "Club
Deutscher Drehorgelfreunde," who informs about a nearly unknown
producer of orchestrions at Prague.  More information here:
https://www.musica-mechanica.de/media/PDF/Diego_Fuchs.pdf 

Helmut Kowar discusses even more historical facts on how to get
permission to play barrel-organs on German streets in the early 19th
century, from transcribed permissions of circa 1815 for an organ
grinder in Prussia.

Friends of more contemporary mechanical instruments may inform
themselves about a modern instrument called the Marble Machine,
which was invented and built by Martin Molin.  To watch this modern
interpretation of mechanic music have a look here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvUU8joBb1Q 

Our chairman, Ralf Smolne, reports about the restauration of an
early musical clockwork from the Black Forest maker Ignaz Schoepperle,
and a friend of our society, Simon Steiner, wrote an article about
a widely unknown barrel-piano from Greece called "Laterna".

Please stay safe and we hope to see you back in Europe after the
pandemia!

Regards,
Uwe Gernert, GSM