-- forwarded message, please reply to sender and MMD --

  A Shire Album Mechanical Music by Kevin McElhone.
  Shire Publications Ltd 1997 ISBN 0 7478 0354-4.

This cute booklet serves as an introduction to mechanical music.
Kevin McElhone has created an automatic musical instruments family
tree depicting the wide range of self-playing instruments.

This book relates the history of mechanical music starting in 1796
with the musical watch.  Chapters are devoted to musical boxes, street
instruments, player pianos, indoor organs, and nickelodeons and other
instruments.  Within each chapter the variations of instruments are
described in detail.  For example the chapter that includes cylinder
music boxes explains how multiple tunes are played on a single
cylinder.

The advantages of multiple musical combs are explained as well as the
addition of additional instruments such as drums to a cylinder box.
The book contains 32 pages in black and white with a full color cover.
It is illustrated with 68 photographs and drawings.

The book encourages the reader to join musical societies and lists many
international organizations with contact information.  Visitation of
public collections in the United Kingdom is also encouraged with a list
of public collections.  Available from Todd Augsberger.  $8.00 includes
shipping to USA.  Todd can be contacted at <allmax@bright.net>.  Todd's
web site http://www.bright.net/~allmax/Roller_Organ_Buying.htm under
the accessories category pictures pages from the book.

Reviewed by Richard Poppe, St, Paul, Minnesota