Dear MMDers,  Walter Tenten asked in MMD 020130 about the firm
Mazzoletti in Belgium.  This Italian immigrant founded a small
business in 1898 of (automatic) pianos and orchestrions (or rather
called 'tingel-tangels' in Brussels).

From 1910 till about 1914, his shop and workshop were established
at the Place Royale at Schaarbeek.  Some of his instruments had
xylophones, percussion and electrical lamps, although the most common
type of instruments built by Mazzoletti were the barrel pianos with
a mirror decoration on the front side, probably like the one Walter
Tenten saw.  These instruments were well-made and they're still quite
common.  ('Common' is relative, of course, but I've seen three in
antique shops in Gent the last five years).

Antique dealers often ask high prices for these instruments, since
apparently a lot of people buy these instruments as a decoration, not
as a mechanical music instrument.  If I'm not mistaken, there's also
a Mazzoletti barrel piano at the Thursford Collection in GB.

Attached are two small adverts of E. Mazzoletti, taken with permission
from the author from the catalogue:

S. Godfroid, Bouwers van automatofonen in Vlaanderen.  Proeve van
catalogus (In: Volksmuziekatelier, Jaarboek V, Provinciaal Trefcentrum
Baljuwhuis) [Builders of automatic musical instruments in Flanders;
preliminary catalogue, (In: Folk music workshop, Yearbook V, Provincial
Meeting Centre "Baljuwhuis")], Galmaarden, 1987, copyright by Stephane
Godfroid, published by Provinciaal Trefcentrum "Baljuwhuis" Galmaarden
[Provincial Meeting Centre "Baljuwhuis"], Galmaarden, Belgium

Best wishes,

Bjorn Isebaert
Gent, Belgium
http://www.hooghuys.org/

 [ Thanks for your research, Bjorn.  I'll place the advert images
 [ at http://mmd.foxtail.com/Pictures/  -- Robbie