I recently finished reading "Thank Heaven," a memoir by film star
Leslie Caron.  Caron's fans will enjoy her memoir which covers her
life and career from childhood to present day.

A surprising fact that I learned about Caron is that her grandfather
collected and restored 'mechanical toys', as she called them.  Her
description, "Metal rolls played music when set in motion," certainly
sounds like mechanical music.  She describes several automatons
including a smoking sailor with real smoke coming from his mouth when
he removes his pipe, a magician with a monkey's face lifting cups
from a fringed table, and a tightrope dancer holding a balancing pole.

These mechanical toys were saved by Caron's grandfather as the German
occupation of France began in World War II.  Unfortunately, Caron does
not report on the follow-up status of these machines after the war.
It would be interesting to know what happened to them and whether any
have been retained by the family.

Joyce Brite
Player Piano and Mechanical Music Exchange
http://www.mmdigest.com/Exchange/