Watch and hear automatic musical instruments and mechanical figurines come to life at New Jersey's Morris Museum!
In this one-hour virtual tour, we'll explore one of the world's most significant collections of automatic musical instruments and automata, the Murtogh D. Guinness Collection. From the massive 10-foot tall Poppers “REX” Orchestrion (the largest piece in the collection, which contains a keyboardless piano, various percussion instruments, and organ pipes that mimic string instruments) to a tiny, magic trick–performing clown, the automata at The Morris are some of the most incredible contraptions in the world. We'll be joined by conservator Jere Ryder, who will demonstrate some of the most unique pieces from the collection.
We'll start in the museum's public exhibition space where Ryder will walk us through the early history of mechanical instruments, playing select pieces along the way. Then we'll make our way to a demonstration space, currently closed to the public, where we'll see a specially curated selection of automata that will perform for us. To cap the experience, we'll be treated to a musical performance from the museum's newest acquisition, a recently restored music machine that has yet to go on display!
About the Guinness Collection
In 2003, the Morris Museum was awarded the Murtogh D. Guinness Collection of 750 historic mechanical musical instruments and automata (mechanical figures) and more than 5,000 programmed media, ranging from player piano rolls to pinned cylinders.
As one of the most significant collections of its kind in the world, highlights of the collection are displayed in a spectacular 4,300 square foot permanent exhibition Musical Machines & Living Dolls: Mechanical Musical Instruments and Automata from the Murtogh D. Guinness Collection. This interactive exhibition features more than 150 pieces from this extraordinary collection and takes visitors on a journey through the history of on-demand musical entertainment.
ZOOM!
As Conservator of the Murtogh D. Guinness Collection of Mechanical Musical Instruments and Automata, I bring a lifetime of involvement within this specialized field. A keen interest developed after being introduced to the field by collector parents, whom Mr. Guinness had encountered in the 1950s. Guinness became a close family friend, served as a mentor, and his collection inspiration for later study within the field. With no specialized teaching institutions dedicated to this particular realm, it was my late father, Hughes M. Ryder, who introduced my brother and I to an Int’l. array of private collections and related museums, assisting my ability to enter into studies/apprenticeships to surviving, established field masters, modern manufacturers, and successors of original firms, some dating to the early 19th century.
Throughout junior high and high school I received objects, old & new, for repair from regional dealers and distributors. Brother Stephen and I created a business partnership in 1973 and since have repaired, restored, appraised, and advised for some of the finest collections, acquiring objects on behalf of the state and privately-owned museums worldwide, and are internationally renowned for research projects and the ability to source rare instruments offering new paths of study. This also includes over 40 years of experience in secure packing, international transport, storage, location set-up, maintenance, staff operations, and institutional docent training for this field.
For over 25 years I had been involved with the inception and continuation of the museum effort of the Musical Box Society International and have assisted in mounting long and short-term exhibitions of these objects throughout the country in numerous host institutions.
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