[ Ref. 180925 MMD, "FS Free: Player Pianos & Rolls in New York" ]

In the late 1960s and early 1970s Terry Hathaway and I at Hathaway
& Bowers used to buy truckloads of unrestored players in the East,
have them brought here, after which we put them on display for sale
from several hundred dollars on up.

With each instrument there was a copy of Rebuilding the Player Piano,
by Larry Givens, and instructions how to order supplies from Durrell
Armstrong's Player Piano Company in the Midwest.

We would announce a sale starting at 9 a.m. on a Saturday.  When the
doors opened, dozens of people swarmed in and within an hour or two
most pianos were gone.

We also started more serious collectors than I can count, who bought
coin pianos, orchestrions, reproducing pianos (for several thousand
dollars on up), music boxes and band organs.

It was a memorable era!

Dave Bowers