On my way back to Australia from the MBSI meeting in Chicago,
I stopped in UK and France.  In Paris I heard what sounded like
mechanical music and around the corner was a fellow sat on the street
with a very small box cranking away.

I took a photo of him so my friend, Sonia, put some coins in his
bowl.  He moved the bowl to make it easier for her.  As he let go
of the crank handle, it dropped to the vertical position and swung
a little like a pendulum, and the music continued without any change
of tone whatsoever.  Aha, I thought, the Phillips system !  It was
then I realised that the organ, which was less than half the size of
my Castlewood, sounded more like the Mammoth Gavioli.

But it really made me think.  The visual effect of the cranking in
conjunction with the sound was good enough to busk for money with.
If he were to sit there with the music playing from the hidden tape
recorder, I doubt that anyone would have given him any money.

Is this the psychology of paying someone for work done, I wonder?
Interesting !

Tom Newsome,
Australia

 [ I observed the same scene in Germany.  Passersby dutifully reward
 [ a nostalgia-evoking street entertainer, without regard for his
 [ talent or originality.  -- Robbie