简体中文
EnglishWhat is the Musical Box Society of Great Britain (MBSGB)?
Updated
The Musical Box Society of Great Britain (MBSGB) is a society for people who collect, study, restore, or simply enjoy mechanical musical instruments—musical boxes, organettes, and self-playing pianos or organs. It describes itself as an international organisation with members in Europe, North America, Asia, and Australasia, and it is aimed at both long-standing collectors and people who are new to the field. Its stated activities are regional and national meetings, publishing books and articles, taking part in public events, and promoting research into the history and maintenance of instruments.
Who the society is for
The site frames membership around shared enthusiasm rather than expertise. Two groups are addressed directly:
- Existing enthusiasts and collectors who want to meet others with the same interest, and who may want advice on collecting, disposing of items, valuations, and restoration.
- People new to musical boxes or mechanical instruments, who need a plain explanation of what the field covers before deciding whether to get involved.
If your interest is purely academic—for example, researching the mechanical programming of pinned barrels and punched discs—the society's research and publications side is the relevant part. If you own an instrument and want practical help, the advice and restoration angle matters more.
What "mechanical music" means here
The society's own explanation is a useful starting point: mechanical music is produced by self-playing or automatic instruments. These may be versions of pianos or organs, or distinct instruments such as musical boxes or organettes. The defining feature is that notes are not selected by a human hand but determined mechanically by a programme—pinned on wooden barrels or metal cylinders, or punched on discs or strips of metal, card, or paper.
A simple example: on a musical box, the tune is fixed by the placement of pins on a rotating cylinder, so the same cylinder always produces the same piece. That is the mechanism the society's publications and research cover.
What membership involves
According to the site, joining MBSGB gives you:
- Contact with like-minded enthusiasts and the chance to make friends within the community
- Advice on collecting and disposing of items, valuations, and restoration
- Editions of the Society's journal, The Music Box
The site presents membership as the route to these benefits and provides a "Join Now" entry point, but it does not publish prices or payment details on the page, so check the membership page directly for current terms.
Activities and resources
Beyond meetings and events, the site lists a set of resources that are useful even before joining:
| Resource | What it appears to cover |
|---|---|
| Musical Box Register | A register of instruments |
| Tune Sheets and Tune Lists | Reference lists of tunes |
| MBSGB Archive | Society archival material |
| Musical Box Repair | Repair guidance |
| Useful Links, FAQs, Reading List | Further reference material |
Some of these sit behind a login, so not everything is necessarily open to non-members.
How to decide whether to get involved
- Join if you want the journal, direct advice on collecting or restoration, and access to meetings and a community of collectors.
- Start with the free material if you are new and want to understand the field first—the "New to musical boxes" page and the FAQ are the natural entry points.
- Contact the society at [email protected] for specifics on membership, events, or advice; the postal address given is Aeolian Court, Station Hill, Chudleigh, Newton Abbot, Devon TQ13 0EE.