In a Waco, Texas, Craigslist ad for a Welte-Mignon grand, I found this
statement that is at least partly true:

  "The piano for sale represents the first means that mankind had of
  accurately reproducing sound before the phonograph or the telephone
  were invented.  This is why it was called a 'reproducing' piano
  instead of a 'player' piano."

Well, actually, the "reproducing" piano takes the place of an actual
human's performance (to the extent that the reproducing parts have been
regulated), and is also a glorified version of a normal player action.
Take away the reproducing part and you have a normal player.  Of course
it takes additional labor, but I can't see who would want to "de-produce"
a "reproducer."  The link to the ad is below:

  https://waco.craigslist.org/msg/6178893950.html 

Luke Myers
ldmyers95@gmail.com.geentroep [delete ".geentroep" to reply]