D. L. Bullock says:


>> I found a 1933 Duo-Art in a Mason & Risch piano on eBay and
>> I do not ever remember hearing of such an animal.


For about 20+ years I owned an identical twin to this Mason & Risch
Duo-Art 6' grand piano.  I believe the vendor may have erred in the
year of production, unless it was assembled out of left-over parts.
Mine was positively identified as made in 1929 and, like this one on
eBay, tracker bar tubing ran through the keybed.

The Canadian-made Mason & Risch Duo-Art is a very good quality piano,
with a fine, rich tone.  I highly recommend it.  In later years, the
Mason & Risch piano and assembly plant was sold and, very quickly,
the quality was stripped out of it.  As a consequence, the earlier
Mason & Risch pianos have acquired undeserved criticism by association.

A word of caution: The eBay seller states "keys are original".  That
means they are ivory keys.  The spectre of the International CITES
Agreement of 1978 rears its ugly head if a buyer attempts to export
it to the USA.  In theory, any ivory "worked prior to the CITES
Agreement is exempt its provisions."  So says the spirit and intent of
that mysterious agreement, to which Canada and the USA were signatories,
along with several hundred nations.

Unfortunately, the last I knew is that the USA continues to impose its
own interpretation, exempting an ivory item only if it is proven to be
100 years of age or older.  Perhaps others on this group may have more
current information.

In any case, a border crossing with such a piano is a bit of a crap
shoot.  It could be seized as "contraband" by a zealous Fish & Wildlife
Inspector, or it could be ignored by a US Customs agent.  Both have
happened.

If anyone among us is interested in acquiring this worthwhile piano,
contact me personally and I'll share my frustrating experience in
dealing with Canadian and US officials.  I've been there, done that.

Regards,

Terry Smythe
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
http://members.shaw.ca/smythe/rebirth.htm