Am I Allergic to My Nickelodeon?  It happens all the time, and I have
just accepted it as a hazard of the trade.  Last month a little oak
Gregory Steck which had been just imported from England came in for a
complete rebuild.  It had been in a very damp place and had a lot of
loose veneer, and the back frame was falling apart.  It had a really
strange smell, which gave me and the two fellows that work in the shop
lumps in our throats and slight nausea.  After the piano was completely
disassembled and washed down with a light bleach/Lysol solution, this
reaction went away.

There have been a few times when allergic reactions to incoming
projects have made me downright sick.  Such was the case with both a
reed organ and a player piano that were survivors of Hurricane Katrina.
I am very allergic to tobacco, and many years ago I restored a small
German nickelodeon that was so permeated with tobacco residue that my
nose felt blasted with snuff when I got anywhere near it while it was
playing.  There was not anything that I could do to get rid of the
smell either.

Brian Thornton