I've always liked mechanical stuff, though I haven't fooled with
mechanical music beyond fixing a cuckoo clock with an incredibly
annoying music box inside it.  But I've found this list fascinating:
I'm interested in the history of technology, and I teach technology
stuff to teachers.  I have a couple of questions:

First, I once visited a shop in Connecticut, possibly in Greenwich or
Norwalk, called the Mechanical Music Center.  This is the first time
I'd ever heard of a player organ or any of the more exotic wonders of
mechanical music.  The fellow there was delighted to demonstrate the
stuff to anyone who walked in, potential customer or no.  Does anyone
know who I'm talking about?  He was a good ambassador of mechanical
music.

My other connection to this particular realm of the universe was
established in 1971, when I got a job (temporary, as it turned out) at
a radio station in Madison, Wisconsin (WTSO) as a broadcast engineer.
One of the other engineers, though thoroughly skilled at broadcast work,
really had his heart in another world: at the first opportunity, he
started to explain the difference between a reproducing piano and a
player piano.  He was just bugs about the Duo-Art and the mysteries
therein.

After I moved to Connecticut, I mentioned him to a fellow who brought
some sort of an electric piano playing device into my stereo repair
shop.  Turns out that my Wisconsin friend was quite famous in the
Duo-Art world.  His name was Chet (for Chester, I think) Kuharski.
He was fairly well along in years when I met him, but perhaps someone
from this group recalls the name.

Mark Kinsler -- lurking...
Interpretation and instruction in physical science and technology.
Athens, Ohio, USA.     http://www.frognet.net/~kinsler

 [ Welcome aboard MMD, Mark.  History, as distinct from the technology,
 [ may not help our understanding of these machines, but it sure gives
 [ us an appreciation for the ingenuity of their inventors!  Glad you're
 [ with us, and please write again.  -- Robbie