Last week I visited a dealer of old furniture not far away from my
place.  What struck my eyes was a sort of cabinet with a cranking
handle on its side.  The owner told me that this was a cranking organ
and he considered it as a decoration for his shop.  Nevertheless he had
affixed a label with a very astronomic price.

When I investigated the device I discovered a clockwork driven big
wooden pinned barrel controlling a piano action and a drum.  The device
was in a desolate state and the music produced sounded terrible.  The
only indication of a manufacturer I found was on the handle which
selected one tune out of ten.  It read "E MAZZOLETTI".

Back at home I investigated my literature for details about this brand.
In Alexander Buchner's 1992 book, "Mechanische Musikinstrumente",
I found one picture with a device similar to the one I had touched just
one hour ago.  The explanation read: "Pianino mit Spielwalze belgischer
Produktion, Marke Mazoletti..."

Apart from the fact that Buchner misspelled the name, is there any
reader who knows more about this manufacturer and his instruments?

Best regards from Linnich (Germany)

Walter Tenten