Kessels Museum's collection consists mostly of the musical instruments, workbenches and tools collected in 1939 by Jan Passier, one of the factory's employees.
In 2010, much of the collection he assembled was donated by the Passier family (in particular Mrs Passier-Menne, who died in 2022) to the Musical Instrument Maker's Museum Foundation (now the Kessels Museum).
The collection has been designated as Tilburg Heritage by the municipality of Tilburg. The collection is still regularly expanded by donations from third parties. In the Kessels Museum, you can view many instruments. The manufacture and use of the Kessels instruments is also shown to you in a surprising way.
In the museum galleries, follow Kessels ' story over:
- The timeline between 1815 and 2022
- The factory with a reconstruction of the historic factory;
- The instruments made by Kessels;
- Kessels publishing/printing activities;
- The keyboard loft and the Music Lab.
Donations and loans
Kessels Museum seeks to expand its core collection in various ways. Instruments can be offered. The important thing here is that objects must be in good condition and not yet in the collection. Objects that add value to the collection but are not in good condition are restored in our own workshop or by third parties. Donations of objects are only accepted if the object to be donated fits within the criteria of this collection plan. Donors first sign a proof of issue/preliminary donor form. After acceptance/acceptance, a donation deed with the following stipulations is agreed. The donor also receives an official letter of thanks on behalf of the Kessels Museum Board.
Restoration workshop
The Kessels Museum also houses its own restoration workshop with professionals who restore instruments. Do you have an instrument in need of repair or restoration?
Then contact the professionals at the Kessels Museum. Send an email to info@kesselsmuseum.nl for more information.
