Greetings all,  Scotty Greene's inquiry about the Pianotist reminded
me of having one of those very early players sometime in the 1980's.
It was a very tall mahogany upright, with a pullout drawer, exactly
like the photo at http://www.mmdigest.com/Gallery/Pictures/PwrRoller/ 

It was a very interesting mechanism: a rotating felt-covered wooden
cylinder was driven by off-centered pedals. The heavy paper roll
allowed the note actuation finger to momentarily come through the
perforated hole (similar to band organ book music), which then released
a wooden follower, with a curved foot, onto the cylinder. The follower,
located just below the piano action and sticking up through the keybed,
was kicked up by the cylinders rotation and caused the note to sound.

The provenance of the piano was that is was purchased at the St. Louis
Exposition of 1904 and it spent its life in San Antonio, Texas.  I think
IBM used the same idea in one of their early business machines.

I also recently found an early Farrand upright that has the 4-tier
stack located underneath the keybed and pushes directly onto the keys.
The rolls are 6-to-the-inch and approximately 13 inches wide.  It does
not have the pot metal valves.  It's quite a musical curiosity and is
available.

Well, enough ramblings for now.

John McClelland
New Mexico, USA