Keyboard instruments are living witnesses of past times. Their splendid appearance together with their tonal magic produces an almost mystical attraction which has endured for centuries. All this, with his love of music and his passion for historic instruments, was the incentive for the author to assemble his collection, piece by piece. Steadily, many precious instruments were acquired over the years. The collection grew to one of the most significant of its type. It contains a plethora of especially rare treasures -- the oldest French harpsichord, and many other preciousnesses, in fact, about 100 instruments are treated here. The book is a pictorial account of a famous collection. The reader is asked to learn more from the plates than from the text. Nonetheless, it is still a catalogue, with both organological notes and comments on the history of plucked keyboard instruments and clavichords.