May I introduce myself as, I believe, the second Englishman this week.
I'm ashamed to say that I've been lurking on the group for two months
without the courtesy of sending an intro and have been shaken into
activity by the recent correspondence on the subject of Larry Givens,
of which more later.

Mechanical musical instruments have been one of my hobbies for the last
thirty years.  A visit to a friend during the 1960s introduced me to
player pianos and, then being a complete non-musician, thought it was a
wonderful thing.  I bought a very cheap one shortly afterwards.  Being
mechanically inclined (and trained) it was not long before I found out
why it was not working well and completed a restoration.  That piano has
now gone but I have three more at home, two 88 note and one 65 note, all
foot pumpers.  It's the feeling which you put into it which gives the
satisfaction, especially on a well-arranged roll.  I've lots of rolls and
have lots of fun.

For many years I have been a member of the Musical Box Society of Great
Britain and I'm also a member of the Player Piano Group.  Apart from
pianos I have a small collection of both cylinder and disc musical boxes
as well as a couple of organettes.

When I retired a few years ago (I made stained glass windows) I took up
non-mechanical music when, for my 60th birthday, my wife gave me an
accordion.  While this has not diminished my interest in mechanical
music, I do now spend much more time playing from dots rather than from
holes.

I am now in the process of restoring a Gem Roller Organ which revealed,
when I removed the decayed fabric, a pencil inscription on the inside:
'Purchased Oct 1959 and restored March 1960 by Larry Givens, Wexford,
Pa'.  I have now added my own pencil inscription and wonder who will make
the third?  At least the next one won't have to contend with the PVA
(white) glue that caused me so much trouble.

While I have pen to paper (so to speak) I have a comment on another
recently aired topic, that of editorial interjections.  One writer noted
that an editor had added what he called emphasis ! marks.  On this side
of the Atlantic the are called exclamation marks and are only
(legitimately) used following an exclamation such as the one which I made
on finding the PVA.  Oh dear!  Or was it something stronger.  Our
teachers say that we should construct the emphasis into the words we use,
but in practice it is used for emphasis here also.  However, in the
publications which I edit, they all go out.  Wow!  On the same subject, I
rather liked the editorial comments and am sorry they are to be
curtailed.

And on another topic:

Keith Reedman¶
63¶
Long Eaton, Derbyshire.  0115 973 2150

 [ Editors not-yet-curtailed note:
 [
 [ Welcome to the authors circle, Keith, and I like your points about
 [ exclamations.  The newspaper folk call it a "bang"(!), and use it
 [ sparingly.  (I wish I could remember what poet Ogden Nash said
 [ about it.)
 [
 [ You authors have noticed that I seldom allow words in all capitals,
 [ because in e-mail parlance that conveys SHOUTING !  So I embrace your
 [ words with underscores, like _this_, because, indeed, we aren't
 [ shouting here, are we. -- It's simply for _emphasis_.  I'd love to
 [ have italics and bold face and  small capitals available;  then we'd
 [ have a Digest as slick and fancy as the Web Sites!   :-)
 [
 [ Back to the subject now.  Keith, could you sometime tell us about
 [ your stained glass work.  We all appreciate the labor which goes into
 [ the beautiful art-glass fronts of nickelodeons.  What different ways
 [ are practical now for making or restoring these pieces-de-art?
 [
 [ -- Robbie