Hi, Robbie & Jody:  I just want to say that if anyone needs expert art
glass replacement and repair for their orchestrions, the time to 'get
off the dime' is now.  Bill Emerson, in San Dimas, California, just
finished a small pane replacement for my KT Special oriental art glass
panel, and fashioned a tune-card holder for it (which was missing).

It seems as though when I had the orchestrion shipped away to the
rebuilders, I thought I'd hide the art glass in the closet in a "safe"
place -- safe until one day my 9-year old son's friends came over and
played 'Hide and Go Seek' you know where!  As I freaked and tried to
intervene, I watched the oak case and glass tip over in slow-mo with
a thud.

Luckily, only a small pane of clear and a smaller one of maroon-brown
cracked.  As I panic easily about things of this nature, I ran to my
Rolodex and found Bill Emerson's number and dialed it.  He was still
in business, still restoring nickel-piano glass from the dozens of
patterns he has on every make imaginable.  He's been doing this for
years.

When I arrived, there laid-out in his workshop was an entire assembly
of original Seeburg G art glass, torches and all, that he was repairing
for a customer.  He then showed me his scrapbook of everything he ever
worked on, and was that an eye-opener.

As I mentioned, I picked up the glass Saturday (it's been there over
a year, by the way).  It looked great, as expected.  Bill is a nice,
easy-going, helpful individual, without any annoying ego problems.
But he alluded to the fact that he may want to "hang-it-up soon" as
far as coin-piano and art glass repair business is concerned.

Retirement, perhaps?  I don't know.  The point is, my glass was the
"last one off the line" for the time being.  There were no more
orchestrion art glass examples in the shop yesterday.

I don't know of anyone else who's doing such fine work on such a
little-discussed subject.  If there are others out there, I sure would
like to know.  Who knows, I may have to hide some more art glass someday
in a "safe" place.  And I just might need another Bill Emerson!

If you have busted art glass, email me and I can put you in touch with
Bill.  Perhaps we can sweet-talk him out of retirement!

Regards,

Mark Forer