Hello Bryan and MMD readers,  When our Musical Wonder House museum
opened in 1963, I wanted to buy a Hardman Duo wholesale from Mr. McDuff
(then in charge of Aeolian-American) but they couldn't guarantee what
kind of player action we'd receive, and so the idea died on the vine.
(We planned on giving it "industrial" use at the museum, along with the
antique player instruments.)

The _early_ Hardman Duo models were based on the Standard Pneumatic
Action and were often given the name "MasterPlay" or "Standard
Pneumatic Action".  These were made in the Walnut St. NY factory, and
were direct developments from a prototype that Max Kortlander had built
to spark a postwar interest in player rolls.

(Old 'Cashbox' magazines show Kortlander and Cook at a trade show with
this instrument.  Ramsi Tick told me in the 'Seventies, when visiting
our museum, that the instrument was in Buffalo at the time.)

I don't know the exact relationship between Imperial Industrial Co.
(QRS) and the players made in New York, but while I was there the roll
leaders were being stamped with "It's Twice The Fun when Your Piano is
2-in-1 - See The Hardman Duo today!"

I suspect this extra 'touch' quit when the Memphis and other player
operations began with Aeolian, especially when the plastic unit valves
were introduced.  Even so, I saw new "MasterPlay" actions at Knapp's
Music Co. in South Portland ME in the late 'Seventies, so perhaps they
were a tandem operation at the time.

"The Spinet That Is A Player-Piano" (the 64-note Pianola piano) was
the first billboard for players in New York City since the 1920's,
and that got a lot of press at the time, as did Max's prototype player,
which preceded Winter's building of the first wood action Hardman Duo
instruments.

Ivers & Pond (part of Aeolian then) advertised the Standard Pneumatic
Action, but I don't know if these were the wooden or plastic variety.
Other names popped up for the Aeolian series: "The Sting", "Keepsake"
(in Canada), and so forth, often with the case being extended beyond
the pin block to make the instruments 'seem' like taller uprights
instead of the consoles that they were.

I saw the first Winter-built Hardman Duo in 1956 (or was it '57?) at
Gararden's on Mission St. in San Francisco CA, which had just taken
over the QRS shop on McAllistair St., run by Louis Goelzlin (sic) --
which, until it closed, was EXACTLY like what one sees in old trade
publications of the 1920's.

He had an Autopiano Licensee there, which wheezed through the Imperial
Industrial Co./QRS merchandise -- and this moved to Gararden's also
(which was also a church furniture outfitting business, primarily).
The QRS store was next to the old burlesque house, the President
Follies; it probably opened when standard vaudeville was the norm,
and "songs being plugged" could be purchased on rolls as the audiences
left the theatre.

Aeolian-American sold out to Winter about a year _after_ the Duo was
introduced, probably 1957.  The Aeolian Corp. became the next enter-
prise, but again, I don't have the corporate chronology here in my roll
studio.

Morton Gould and other musical people lent their names to brochures for
the Duo and the Pianola in the earlier years.  When the operation left
New York City a certain amount of "steam" for the quality revival of
players seemed to fade, at least from my viewpoint.

Just when the Duo/Art (not the Duo-Art!) replaced the Duo, I can't say,
and of course Janssen had their Welte-Mignon (not the 'reproducing'
piano) about that time.  Kimball and Wurlitzer dabbled with player
spinets for a time as well.

I have played some Duos which were well-regulated and capable of good
musical performances.  Others I've seen eliminated the large elbows
from the pedal action to the stack, being bent into an "L" which cut
the dynamic power down considerably!  You can certainly see the
variables as the years progressed.

I was hoping that Max would get Hardman to put a 'Recordo' box in the
electrified version of the Duo, since QRS had (then) a _huge_ library
of these 'reproducing' rolls in their offerings.  Unfortunately, when
the new management came along after Max's passing, and the Duo-Art
didn't sport the hoped-for 'Recordo' action, this idea remained only
that: "a missed opportunity".  [snip]

I miss the Duo because it had the Tempo and Soft Pedal and Sustain
Pedal controls of the basic old players.  Electric motor roll drives,
the lack of hand controls, and other "trim down" features in this niche
industry of today are a turn-off for me, and for most people in the
long run.

Perhaps some enterprising person will reintroduce the pedal player --
in its responsive and controllable form -- in the future.  Who could
have believed that the Duo-Art could be built again or that rolls,
including mine, would be played at The Louvre?  (E.g.: Cine Memoire,
with rolls and the Vitaphone classical shorts.)

I'm very optimistic about the music roll field, for the _dedicated_
person.  For the "fun-to-pedal" types in the rec room or the "arty"
people (just sit and listen to a 'recorded' performance on the
'reproducing' piano) ...  I'm not so sure they'll be around in the
New Century.

Pianos are costly to maintain and are worth it for those who make
use of the player's attributes.  The Duo opened a door in our time,
and I'm glad that it was "there".  That so many are still in use today
(many belonging to customers of mine now) shows that the design was
valid then, as it is now.

Regards from Maine

Douglas Henderson
Artcraft Music Rolls
http://www.wiscasset.net/artcraft/

(You said you'd "hear from me" in today's posting -- so this is it!)