Some years ago I bought a calliope sight unseen (except for a couple
of fuzzy pictures) from an eBay auction.  It turned out to be a Cozatt
Model No. 1, in rough, unplayable condition.  It ended up sitting in
a friend's garage while I contemplated getting around to fixing it up
one day.

Then the MBSI had an auction at their Las Vegas convention and, lo and
behold, there was a Miner Calliaphone listed.  Not only was it in playing
condition but it also had a roll player and MIDI.  Nirvana!  Some $$$
later it was safely home in my music room.  The Cozatt languished.

Recently I was contacted by an organ builder friend of mine who had
met a talented college-age musician.  This young man had inquired about
obtaining a band organ for a circus wagon.  After telling the musician
that what he really wanted was a calliope, we made a deal that got the
Cozatt out of my friend's garage and into the shop for refurbishing.

This evening we disassembled the Cozatt to assess the work ahead.  The
action is remarkably simple and it should be easy to add MIDI to allow
it to be played when the talented musician is off doing other things.
I've placed pictures of the tear-down on my web site here:

  http://haskey.com/johnh/organ/cozatt_calliope/ 

I'd be interested in hearing from other Cozatt owners and comparing
notes.  I'm also interested in learning more about the Cozatt Organ
Company of Danville, Ill.  At http://books.google.com/ I found some
references to the Journal of the American Theatre Organ Society and
also the Encyclopedia of the American Theatre Organ, but I don't have
copies of these publications at hand.  Any info would be welcome.

John Haskey
Bonny Doon, California