Vale John Phillips

My good friend, namesake and fellow collector John Phillips passed away
at around age 85 on 30 November 2015.  John had been suffering a heart
condition for some years, but when we last met, he seemed hale and
hearty, and full of ideas on the restoration of a Duo-Art.

John was no ordinary guy, despite his small stature and seemingly quiet
disposition.  He served for many years as a scientist at Antarctica,
looking for a particular particle from outer space -- not your average
employment.

As a collector, John had a special interest in the player piano and
more recently in the restoration of a Duo-Art.  A few months ago he
purchased a collection of Duo-Art rolls from a collector in Adelaide,
believed to have come from the infamous Ken Perry collection.
(Perry's wife was accused of poisoning him with arsenic, however Perry
maintained the poison was due to too much exposure to Orchestrelles.)

When John saw that some of these rolls were not in my collection of
e-rolls, he packed up those I did not have and sent me two full boxes
of Duo-Art rolls.  His support of my project was one of the many
reasons I so enjoyed a friendship with John, let alone John's sense of
humour.  MMD readers will have noted in John's contributions that
John's interest in player pianos was not always entirely shared by his
spouse, in the same way his spouse's interests did not necessarily grab
John.  The sense of rivalry was always in good humour, however.

Because of our surnames, John and I would sometimes receive each
other's emails, or messages.  For many people, that we both lived in
Australia was enough to assume we were related.  I will certainly miss
John's ever-ready support and friendship.  He was jolly good fun and
dedicated to the preservation of the player piano and rolls.  I join
many collectors here and abroad in expressing my sadness at his
passing.

Peter Phillips
Sydney