Items For Sale and Historic Restoration
By Joyce Brite
Items for sale:
My neighbor has a Victrola that she no longer has room for. It is in working condition and the cabinet is in good shape. Some records included. Asking $150. Call (913) 537-7033. Midwestern location. (Phone number posted by permission.)
Seen at a local piano store: Used player piano. Sting II by Aeolian. Manual/electric. 80 rolls included. Asking $3995. (913) 537-3774.
I've been gone for a week so I'm catching up. I too am saddened by Robin Pratt's decision to withdraw from this mailing list. One idea he referred to stands out in my mind, "historic restoration." Exactly, what is it? Is historic restoration the way the factory designed and manufactured the item, or the way people actually used it? They're not necessarily the same. It is not always practical or possible to restore an instrument according to manufacturer's specifications. Parts may be scarce or costly, or original materials were defective. Should practicality be sacrificed for historic accuracy?
Two examples:
#1 - My Gulbransen has a superfluous piece of metal called a "Melody Indicator" that attaches to the tracker bar. It serves no real purpose and actually interferes with roll-playing. (I would bet that most original owners discarded this useless piece of metal.) Should I leave it attached to make the player historically correct, or remove it to make roll-playing easier?
#2 - In 1974, the government wanted to encourage seat belt use, so they passed a law requiring that vehicles manufactured that year have a device that would not allow the driver to start the vehicle unless the seat belt were buckled. Many problems arose from this law; it was soon repealed and the devices disconnected. Among the problems: the sensor could only detect weight on the seat, it could not distinguish between a person and inanimate objects. Drivers found themselves having to buckle up bags of groceries in order to start their cars. Question: If you were restoring a 1974 automobile that had this device, would you leave it connected (because that's how the manufacturer built it!) or disconnect it?
I'm sure subscribers can think of many other examples. I would be interested in hearing other people's thoughts on this subject. Thanks.
Joyce Brite
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(Message sent Tue 4 Jun 1996, 00:38:00 GMT, from time zone GMT-0500.) |
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