I was fascinated to learn from Bernt Damm about the American
Pedal-Electric Duo-Art 'export' model, and its way of achieving the
switching between electric and pedalled states.  I have never heard of
these machines before.  I suppose that with the UK market supplied from
the London factory the US machines must have been shipped elsewhere.
Was there really no demand for these in the home market?  Very
interesting, and another entry in the Duo-Art variants list!

I have here the Ampico equivalent of this.  It is a pedal-electric
version of the Marque Ampico, made specifically for the UK market with
American player components fitted in an English piano.  The brass inlay
on the fall board simply says 'Marque Ampico' without identifying the
piano brand, and the same name is on a cast-iron plate screwed to the
frame.  (The real make, Eavestaff, is written in pencil on the piano
action.)  As well as the standard pedal-only Marque Ampico configuration
of single-valve stack and no crescendo system, this also has a small
electric suction unit.

To make room for the suction unit one exhauster reservoir has been
removed.  Not having room for the normal box pump, a flatter design has
been used with two exhausters mounted on each side of a central board,
driven by a crank.  This unit is identical to the one illustrated in
the March/April 2002 AMICA bulletin in an article by Mark Reinhart
about a spinet Ampico of 1938 vintage.  Although described there as
"a unique design to this piano", it clearly must have been a fairly
standard item, because my instrument is about 10 years older than that.
What else were they fitted to, if not the standard Ampicos?

The instrument is totally original, and I think it must have come to
our local auction straight from its original home.  When I restore it
(and yes, the leather is utterly rotten!) I'll be interested to see
what sort of effect is achieved: as I understand it the Marque system
can do without the crescendo system because the pedaller substitutes
for it by controlling the suction supply.  Adding a motorised supply
would seem to bypass the very thing that made the design feasible, but
clearly there was a market for such things.

Unlike the Pedal-Electric Duo-Art, which was an expensive option, the
Pedal-Electric Ampico was the joint-cheapest electrically-powered
version in the UK price list, only the conventional pedal-only Marque
version being cheaper.  I think that the imported Marshall & Wendell
full Ampico at the same price would have been better value both as a
piano and a player!

I wonder how many other things were made in unusual combinations for
'export' markets?  I know that many Standard and Autoplayer actions
found in UK pianos have a Themodist-like expression system that isn't
mentioned in the US literature.  I have seen in Australia a Themodist
that entirely inverts the logic of the normal Themodist system with
theme always on and accompaniment controlled by a Temponamic lever
(on a non-Duo-Art instrument!).  Were there other examples?

Julian Dyer
London, England