I have read about 'Orgue de Barbarie', but about the name of
various fair organs, many people in France say only "Oh! A Limonaire!"
The name Limonaire is, for example, like saying Hoover for a vacuum
cleaner in England.
But Alain Vian (brother of the French poet Boris Vian) was a specialised
mechanical music instruments tradesman, and at this question about the
name Limonaire, he gave this answer:
"A very old maker of fair organs had made a very nice organ,
and when he started to play the first punched card, he said,
'Lis mon air (Read my melody)'!"
It is a joke, because "Limonaire" and "Lis mon air" sound alike in
French! But Alain Vian had plenty of humor...
Best regards from Mirecourt
Francoise Dussour
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