Dear Jody,

A short time ago, I began surfing the Net in search of original, recut
and new rolls for my Duoart piano. All of the resources with whom I had
dealt in the sixties through the early eighties, were no longer in
business.   I contacted Bill Jelen of Bam Bam and Pete Woodworth.  Both
gentlemen were kind enough to give me the names of Paul Johnson, Rob
DeLand, and Doug Henderson.  In addition, Pete suggested that I should
contact you and subscribe to you Automatic-Music list, in digest
format. As a relative Internet novice, I would appreciate receiving
instructions on subscribing to your list, as well as the names of any
additional sources for rolls.

Unfortunately I am unsure of your correct e-mail address. Pete gave it to
me as rollreq@foxtail.com, but I noticed that in the digest there were
references to rolls@foxtail.com.  As a result, I am sending this to
both addresses----if you get them both, I apologize.

 [ No problem.  Since you sent this to the "broadcast" address and
 [ its interesting, I'm going to take the liberty of sharing this
 [ to the group.

Pete also suggested that I supply you with a personal automatic music
history, which follows.  In the early 50s, when I was in my early
teens, my best friends parents purchased a baby grand with a Welte
player and a selection of rolls..  They bought the piano mainly so
their daughter could take piano lessons, as well as for its decorative
value.  They really did not care about the player mechanism,  which did
not operate.  In fact, the player mechanism allowed them to purchase
the piano for a lesser price than they would have paid for a comparable
straight grand.  Apparently, during this period player pianos were out
of vogue.  I cannot tell you how many player pianos I have seen, in my
home town of Cincinnati, which had their mechanisms removed by
technicians who claimed the pianos would be easier to tune and
maintain.  I even saw one Steinway which had not only had the player
removed, but also one foot cut our of the cabinet.  What an abortion!

I was fascinated by this instrument, which had the potential to combine
my love of all types of music with my love of  mechanical devices.  The
electric spool box was operating, and I was able to determine that the
main problem with the mechanism was cracked and broken tubing.
Fortunately, my friends dad was a physician, and he was able to
liberate substantial amounts of red rubber tubing, in various sizes,
from the hospital.  In short order, the player was in relatively good
operating condition.  Its interesting to note that my friends parents
suddenly became interested in the player, and whenever they had a
party, the player was shown off and in continuos operation.

At this point of my life, I vowed that when I had a home of my own, one
of my first acquisitions would be a player grand.  During the ensuing
years, I happened onto a number of them, most of which were not
operating.  A few were Steinways.  You might be interested to know that
during the heyday of mechanical music, Cincinnati was second only to
New York in the sale of Steinway pianos, both straight and players.  I
set my sights on a Duoart Steinway.

The problem was that by the time I did own a home, the instruments
which  were for sale, mainly by Harry Garrison, who was a collector,
restorer and dealer (as well as a magician), were all priced beyond my
means.

I put the word out to friends and patients who were musically
inclined,  asking them to be on the lookout of a Steinway Duoart
grand.  Eventually, in 1969, a young lady who was a voice major at the
College Conservatory of Music, recalled that she had seen one in the
basement of an area church.  I acquired this piano, (which in itself is
a story as the piano had been placed in the basement, and then the
outside wall had been completed) and although it was in rather sorry
shape, it was all there, and was restorable.

With lots and lots of help, I immediately began a complete disassembly,
refinishing and restoration of the instrument.  I was fortunate to have
a very good friend who was an outstanding piano technician.  Also,
Baldwin was still building grands in Cincinnati at that time, and I was
able to obtain the services of very experienced stringers, regulators,
riggers etc.  I was relegated to menial tasks, and did a lot of sanding
and gluing.  The finished instrument was, and still is truly
outstanding, and with regular maintenance, is still working
beautifully!

During this period, Cincinnati was gold mine for a Duoart collector.  I
would find rolls advertised in the classifieds, at yard sales, and in
thrift shops.  I soon had a very large collection, mainly classical,
which includes Audiographic rolls and rolls designed to provide piano
accompaniment for opera singers.   The average price which I had to pay
was $1.00.  I also purchased, for $3.00, a nearly mint bound copy of
the "Duoart Piano Music" catalog.

I obtained many additional rolls from a company called Vi & Sis
Antiques, which had a periodic roll auction.  Many of my original rolls
are a bit fragile, and I bought a large number of recut copies of my
favorites.  All of the companies which I dealt with in the 60s through
early 80s now appear to be out of business.

In the mid-seventies, I purchased a Marshall & Wendell upright with an
Ampico player and an assortment of about 100 rolls.  It was placed in
our lanai, and got a great deal of usage in the summer, when our back
yard was in use for family events and entertaining.

Finally, in 1979 I rescued a Wurlitzer pipe organ from the private
chapel in the former residence of the Archbishop of Detroit, which was
about to be demolished.  Of course, there is a very long story which
accompanies this.  In brief, I installed the organ in the basement of
my home, and we got a great deal of pleasure from it.  Shortly
thereafter, I came across an organ player and a selection of rolls,
which I purchased and installed.  The mechanism operated perfectly, but
the problem was that I bought it from a funeral home.  As a result, all
the musical selections were rather dreary.  I was able to locate a few
more rolls, but they also came from funeral homes or Masonic halls,
where they were also used for funerals.  Were any popular or light
classical rolls every cut for these machines?

Finally, in the early 80s, my wife Terry delivered an ultimatum.  She
threatened to cut off my conjugal privileges if I brought one more
large musical instrument  or piano roll into our home.  Discretion is
the better part of valor.  I stopped collecting.

A few years ago, when our kids had left the nest, we decided to
semi-retire to Florida.  Unfortunately, homes in Clearwater do not have
basements, and I had to find a new home for my organ.  The upright went
to our son, and the Steinway relocated with us.  Lately I have been
noticing a lot of unused storage space in our home.  Ive decided its
time to start acquiring rolls again.

As I have said, I would greatly appreciate it if you would send any
information you might have about Duoart rolls and about your Automatic
Music list.

•Our e-mail address is:          TerryB@ix.netcom.com.

Our snail mail address is:      2116 Egret Dr.,
                                Clearwater, FL 34624

Our phone is:  813/532-4903

•If you have any interest in Florida real estate, check out Terrys home
page at:

        http://www.dogtech.com/topagent

Thanks, in advance for your help.

Dick Baden