On my trip down from the Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, the train (private)
stopped at a station called Matjiesfontein, 180 miles up-the-line from
Cape Town.  It is a small place now and we had a two-hour stop.  The
village has quite some history dating back to the late 1800's.

The bar at the Lord Milner hotel has a player piano, 88-note but 'not
quite' working.  I was told it was some minor problem and by the time
I came upon it I did not have time to look at it.  There was a tear in
the music roll already in place.  It would be quite an atmosphere to
have it playing and the bar full of patrons, as the place was built in
the late 1800's, showing the decor of that period.

At the Stanley and Livingstone hotel at the Victoria Falls, there was
a superb looking piano (non-player) that had a finish or coating of
small brush marks in black, brown and light brown and a good bright
clear coat over that.  Some name can be given to this 'look' and maybe
one of you can better describe.

There were two candle holders on each side of the music stand with
moveable brackets.  The maker's details were "Ad. Knöchel, Berlin,
Goldene Medaille Amsterdam 1883."  Looking inside I found it had been
reconditioned in 1998, with new pins and strings, reguilded and all
other necessary work, the hammers looked original but little wear and
not too hard.

I would date this piano around 1893/88 and it is the finest old piano
I have ever seen, and it played well.

Steve Bentley
Vancouver, British Columbia