I too share Larry Lobel and Dr. Johns' love of Gottschalk's music.
I've been hooked ever since I heard A Night in the Tropics and the Grand
Tarantella for Piano and Orchestra.  I have a few 88-note Gottschalk
rolls, and one or two Duo-art rolls.

Gottschalk is discussed in some detail (a dozen pages) as the only
American in a book, "The Great Pianists, from Mozart to the Present", by
Harold Schonberg, 1963 (out of print).  Chopin, after hearing the 16-year
old Gottschalk play, is reported to have said "give me your hand, my
child.  I predict you will become the king of pianists."

He did not, of course.  He lacked discipline and focus, and refused to
play much of anybody else's music, focusing primarily on promoting his
own.  At any rate, an interesting fellow who left some engaging music.

Ray Fairfield
Morgan Hill, California