I am sorry to announce that Vernon Brown, a fanatic collector of
mechanical musical instruments, passed away last week at the age of 90.
About a year ago I posted a message about his collection [see the
05.06.25 MMD].  Christies was interested, but they have gone out of the
mechanical music business.

Vernon left his widow all alone in a large house, and she will have to
dispose of everything and move to a small apartment.  Vernon was com-
pletely deaf the last six years of his life and couldn't enjoy the
beautiful instruments he so lovingly restored.

The instruments are:

    1. Chickering Ampico Grand, with a closet full of rolls
    2. Steck Duo-Art upright, also with a lot of rolls
    3. Mills Violano, many rolls
    4. O-roll orchestrion, which he built after I made mine.  We were
        friendly rivals.
    5. Two-manual/pedal Barckhoff pipe organ, which he got from Organ
        Clearing House.  I helped him install it in his home, which he
        had built especially to take the organ.

All the instruments were in perfect condition the last time I saw them,
in 2002, before I was demolished in an accident.  His widow is dis-
traught and can't give me any detailed information.  But I know the
organ is a tracker organ and also has a floating Gedeckt unit at 8, 4,
2 2/3, and 2, playable from either manual or pedal.  This unit is
mounted on the wall to the right of the organ.  The organ is a delight
to play; Dr. Joyce Jones spent several happy hours on it.  Almost every
foreign organist who has visited Japan has been most enthusiastic about it.

We are hoping that there will be someone here in Japan who would be
interested in helping Vernon's widow dispose of these instruments.  She
hopes to sell the house with the organ; but there aren't many organists
here who would have the means to purchase it.

Of course, if anyone overseas is interested, please let me know.

Vernon also had a whole wall of his study filled with about every book
ever published on organs and automatic instruments.  I inherited his
collection of organ music and will be making it available from my
library of PDF files which now contains 303 pieces.  A complete catalog
is available in PDF format on request.  I am hoping to bring the series
up to 400 by the end of the year.

If anyone has connections with a Japanese mechanical music fiend
[friend?], please let me know.  The poor woman is completely flustered,
as she knows nothing about mechanical music, but just enjoyed many
years of music.

Vic Searle,
in hot (102 F) and humid (87%) Tokyo