Brian Chesters said of Duo-Art pianos in the UK:

> Contrary to popular opinion, the supply seems to be steady and
> more exciting, the prices appear to be falling.

From a post of mine in MMDigest 960606, talking about the 1970s
Autoplayer shop in Slough, Bucks (about 20 miles west of London):

 "Autoplayer persuaded a number of old Universal employees to emerge
  from the woodwork (Slough is near to Hayes) and occasionally held open
  days for them.  Paul Young, the proprietor, reckoned that on the basis
  of the upright "half Duo-Arts" he was offered by telephone every day,
  there must be 5000 of these instruments surviving in the Thames valley
  alone."

Although Aeolian might have a tarnished reputation in the US because of
the decline in manufacturing standards after 1935, in the UK they simply
vanished in 1931 (though Universal Music continued with the rolls) so
that their standing is much higher here.

The trade still respects their pianos and there are many hundreds of
them, all audibly better than the dreadful "badge pianos" of the 1890s
with which the UK was, at least until about 20 years ago, overflowing.
Not all were built as players - my stepbrother in Edinburgh has a plain
UK Weber grand of about 1926.

Dan Wilson, London