Marc J. Sachnoff wrote about Frank Trotta, "a player piano restorer
in Chicago who passed away about 10 years ago."  I, too, have been to
Frank's house years ago.  I was amazed as well with his collection,
and even went home with a few rolls.

Frank also gave me a tour of his warehouse (in a very bad part of town)
one time I visited.  I remember it was damp inside because of a leaking
roof.  The wood floor was rotted in places, and there were many pianos
scattered around.  I don't know what ever happened to the warehouse
and the contents; I just remember that he and his wife (and/or sister,
I can't remember) were very nice folks and treated me very kindly the
few times I visited.

That was at a time when I was collecting any and all rolls I could
afford.  I got a little carried away, and have amassed about 15,000
rolls since I first started.  I eventually toned it down, and have not
added to my collection for a couple years.

I took a liking to the old red box QRS rolls because they look nice
in the roll cabinets.  I have about 4,000 total and, of those, about
3,500 in my personal displayed collection.  Most of the others are
duplicates or rolls that I don't have shelves for.  Years ago I got
a deal on about 850 Play-Rite rolls (about 1,100 in the series).
They are mostly all new, and were probably part of someone's complete
collection.  I have both an Ampico and Duo-Art grands, so part of my
collection includes rolls of both formats.  I have many duplicates
as well that are for sale.

Years ago I had a bunch of boxes made to replace many of the
deteriorated boxes for the older rolls.  I decided to start selling
boxes to other people as well.  I had to buy them in a large enough
quantity to get a good price.  I still have thousands of boxes left
for sale.

I have enjoyed collecting rolls throughout the years but now I am in
a selling mode.  My children are not interested in the hobby, so I
don't want to burden them with all this stuff should I pass one day.

If anyone is interested in purchasing all or part of my collection,
please contact me.

Richard Ingram
Hesperia, California