About Us

Martin E. Persky is a specialist in automatic musical instruments, both home and commercial entertainment machines primarily of the late 19th and early 20th century. Since 1990, he has been active in supporting acquisition, sales, restoration and appraisal to collectors and the trade worldwide.

Several of the collections he supports are among the largest in the world. Auction houses such as Christie’s and Sotheby’s in England and Skinner in the U.S. have requested his assistance for instrument identification and appraisal. The Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, the Henry Ford Museum as well as the Smithsonian Institute have called upon his expertise.

Mr. Persky has reviewed and edited technical and historical articles and has been consulted by prominent authors in the field. The Musical Box Society International annual meetings have included his presentations on some of the finest entertainment machines ever made.

During the years 1997 through 1999, he supported acquisition and was responsible for restoration oversight and export of many principle instruments for the Kawaguchi-ko Music Forest in Japan. This museum of automatic musical instruments, attracts over 400,000 paid admissions annually. Mr. Persky is coeditor of the Museum’s catalog.

Since 1975 he has been a member and held various offices of the Musical Box Society International (MBSI) and the Automatic Musical Instrument Association (AMICA). Currently he serves as an MBSI Trustee. He is a graduate engineer from the University of Illinois, holding BS and MS degrees.