Although I suspect that at the price quoted the Duo-Art listed for
sale is not one of the original reproducing players from the 20's,
but one of the modern, plastic valve-block junkers made by Aeolian,
it COULD be an original. If so it would probably be a good idea to
find someone in your area who rebuilds players and hire them to check
out the piano for you. It will be money well spent and they will probably
have a Dou-Art test roll which will let them check out the condition
of both the player and expressiion mechanisms. I just finished
rebuilding an absolutely beautiful Weber 65/88 note Themodist in which
some BOZO TECHNICIAN had completely chiseled out the interior of the
expression box and thrown the parts away! Fortunately I had another
expression box to complete the restoration. However, unless you take
along a knowledgeable technician to check out the piano for you, you
would never know this was the case until it was too late. Even if it's
probably a trip for nothing, it's worth taking a chance that it might be
a true Duo-Art. Don't keep us in suspense. Let us know what it turns
out to be!

Les Smith¶
lessmith@buffnet.net