The collection consists of self-playing musical instruments from the 15th to 20th centuries along with relevant musical programmes and documentation.

Automatic musical instruments exist in an overwhelming variety of types and sizes: musical clocks announce the striking of the hour with preludes on bells, organ pipes or strings; musical boxes play their tuned steel combs from pinned brass cylinders or steel discs; pianolas and orchestrions play their music as programmed on wooden, brass-pinned cylinders and perforated paper rolls; barrel organs play their music from pinned wooden barrels; and large street organs, fairground organs and dancehall organs play from folding cardboard music books.