I was saddened to hear of the passing of Philippe Rouillé while I was
attending the AMICA convention in San Francisco.  Philippe was a part
of the MMD since the early days and he was the first French member to
join the list.  He was active in several mechanical music organizations
including AAIMM (Association des Amis des Instruments et de la Musique
Mécanique).

Philippe and I first "met" through MMD when I responded to an early
post of his concerning the lack of non-English language articles.
I replied to him in French which I'm sure surprised and intrigued him.
A couple years later, I made my first trip to Europe and actually met
Philippe in Paris.

I found him to be a gentle, soft-spoken man with a sweet smile.
He was reserved but very generous, with a great sense of humor.  He
accompanied me on a few trips around the city when he was not working.
When he couldn't go with me, he gave me helpful advice and guidance
concerning how to get around the city, and also warned me about
potential tourist scams and what to look out for.  And for that,
I am forever grateful!

On one of my trips, Philippe, Douglas Heffer and myself went to
a piano workshop just outside Paris.  Amid the uprights, grands and
square pianos of the workshop was a recently completed Philipps "Jazz
Band" orchestrion which we enjoyed listening to.  After the visit,
Philippe and I had lunch at a nearby restaurant/bar.  This place was off
the beaten tourist path but the food was wonderful and the atmosphere
truly French -- a gem of a place.

On another trip, as we were leaving Douglas Heffer's former workshop
in Montmartre, we wanted to get a photo of the three of us but needed
someone to take the photo.  Philippe stopped a passerby and asked him
to take the photo.  The passerby resisted at first, looked at his watch
and said he was in a hurry, but he finally relented and took the photo
for us.  Philippe laughed it off and said, "Typical Frenchman.  Rude
at first but in a few minutes, he wants to take you to the bar."  That
was Philippe's sly sense of humor.  He could laugh at himself and his
fellow countrymen.

Besides his knowledge of mechanical music instruments and his love
for them, Philippe was fluent in both English and German which allowed
him to work as a translator.  A fine example of his work was the
translation from German to French of "Musee d'Instruments de Musique
Mécanique."  He also had a passion for horology and published "Le Grand
Livre des Montres" (The Big Book of Watches).  In addition to these
books, he also published many articles for the mechanical music
societies.

Philippe was an advisor and translator for the semi-annual mechanical
music auctions in Chartres.  He worked with Robbie Rhodes and myself
to post photos and descriptions on the MMD web site of the items
offered for sale, and also the prices realised after the auction.

The mechanical music world has lost an exceptional man.  Those of us
who were fortunate to know him will greatly miss him.

Joyce Brite

 [ Thanks, Joyce.  I'll put this tribute with the photos at
 [ http://www.mmdigest.com/Gallery/Pictures/  -- Robbie