Hi from New Zealand to all fellow MMD readers,

It is with great pleasure that I can say we have finished the strung
back (back posts, soundboard, bridges, pin block, frame and stringing)
of the Wurlitzer Photoplayer model K found here in New Zealand in 2010.
Our restorer, Kevin Hanna, estimates that other completed sections of
work (key-bed, key-frame, keys, and piano action) will soon be added
and that you will be able to play the piano by hand again by the end of
2014.  A great milestone.  The team expects to start restoration on the
side-cases in March of 2015.

Does anyone have Wurlitzer Photoplayers that Kevin could visit?  We
still need some information before we can complete the rebuild of the
piano cabinet including the 61-note keyboard. To help overcome this
lack of information, Kevin and his team are traveling to America in
mid-October of 2014 to explore the territory and gather whatever
information they can find.

We are mainly interested in Styles K,H, and R, which are the bigger
models with both 88-note and 61-note keyboards.  Kevin will be in
Oregon, New York, and Chicago, and he could make side trips if
necessary.  Kevin's team is not looking to dismantle instruments but to
check measurements and trace tubing connections to ensure the accuracy
of our rebuild.

We are very interested in the 61-note organ keyboard and pallet valves
beneath, because as our original keyboard was lost in time, having
spent sixty years in a garden shed.  If you have a working knowledge of
the 61-note keyboard and valves or can supply diagrams or photos, they
would be of great help to Kevin.

Don Paynter
Secretary, The Photoplayer Restoration Trust, NZ