[ Ref. 140310 MMDigest, Mills Violano Book by Kitner & Reblitz

Hi Folks,  Roger Wiegand is right -- the Violano book is very pricey
and worth every penny.  He's also very lucky to get one that cheap.

And Paul Eggert has the right idea: get one from the library.  The
inter-library loan system is great.  It may take a couple weeks but
they can find almost anything.  It used to be free at our local library,
but it went up in steps, so it's $5 a book now.  Still, that's not bad
considering that it includes postage out and back plus bookkeeping and
handling.

A few years ago, when the fee was 50 cents, I wanted a copy of the Dom
Bedos book, "The Art of the Organ Builder," which was written in 1778.
I had been discussing barrel organ construction with Charles Ferguson
and he mentioned that I should look up the barrel organ information
in this book.  When I noted that it wasn't in English, he told me that
there was an English translation available.  So down to the library
I went to request that they get me a copy on inter-library loan.

"Not a problem", they said, so I filled out the request form, paid my
50 cents, and waited.  While I was at it, I asked them to also get me
a copy of a neat little booklet that the Royal Observatory in Greenwich,
England, published about the Harrison Clocks.  (I could have bought
one directly from the museum for about $15 but the postage would have
doubled the price.)  So I waited two or three weeks and finally I got
a call from the library that they were both in.  So, down to the
library again to pick them up.

Now comes the good part.  Keep in mind that the clock book is about 32
pages in a soft cover booklet and you can buy one any time you want.
The Dom Bedos book is two hard cover volumes about 18" by 24"; each
volume is about 1-1/2" thick.  It was printed in a limited edition, by
subscription only, in 1977 and the 2-volume set is worth about $1000.

The librarian scanned my library card and handed me the two volumes of
Dom Bedos but they wouldn't let me take out the little Harrison booklet
-- I had to give them my driver's license as collateral and sit at the
table nearby to read it.  Go figure!

Anyway, that Dom Bedos book about organ building is really wonderful,
with great illustrations, some fold-outs.  There are dozens of
illustrations of organ parts and pipe construction.  I made some scans
of a few illustrations and pipe charts for future reference.  But the
neat part was when I looked in the front of the book and discovered
that the fellow who translated it was my friend, Charles Ferguson.
Thanks, Charles!

Regards,
Craig Smith - in western New York, where another storm is coming;
16" to 20" of snow is predicted.