After so many horror stories about gutted reproducing pianos, the
recent post by Ed Gaida was very uplifting [140527 MMDigest].  Ed
could have gotten paid for removing a B drawer from a university
piano, and could have taken home the drawer home for free.  Instead,
he wisely followed a different course of action that resulted in
the instrument remaining whole, and subsequently restored.

The Mason & Hamlin piano was said to be a very late one.  This
tweaked my curiosity to check with Ed to see if he still had the
serial number.  My hunch turned out to be correct.  The instrument
that Ed saved from being gutted turned out to be none other than
serial No. 50220.

According to factory records published by Bill Koenigsberg, that
particular instrument was the very last Mason & Hamlin Ampico B to
leave the factory, its destination being a dealer in San Antonio,
Texas.  Kudos to Ed Gaida for a job well done.

Dave Saul
El Cajon, California