[1] A prototype for the machine was made by Flight & Robson in 1811 at the request of Lord Kirkwall, under the direction of the Earl's protégé, the blind organist John Purkis.
[2] Impromptu demonstrations of this machine at 101 St Martin's Lane (the firm's showrooms) attracted thousands of people.
[3] The instrument was installed at Kirkwall's London home in Charles Street, Berkeley Square, where it impressed the Prince Regent (later King George IV) at a dinner party in 1813.
Purkis performed regular Saturday afternoon recitals on the instrument at St Martin's Lane for the next 21 years.
[2] The St Martin's Lane lease expired in 1845 and the Apollonicon was dismantled and re-assembled at the Music Hall in the Strand.