Greetings, All -- I am a newcomer to the world of player pianos and
to the Mechanical Music Digest.  In the last couple of weeks I've had
a good jump-start from the MMD archives and current Digest articles and
links, but please be patient!

I wanted to tell you that my husband and I have just "adopted" a
Farrand Cecilian upright player piano.  Actually, it was sending out
strong SOS signals from the back of a used furniture warehouse in
Gettysburg PA, where we were browsing for a desk.

I have played piano since childhood, and can't pass one by without
running my hands across it.  But never have I had such a sensation as
when I began to play this instrument (albeit very out of tune) and then
opened the doors to find a player mechanism: Bush & Lane, last patent
date May 19, 1917.  (Three foot-pedals initially made me think that this
was a standard piano.)

When I stopped hyperventilating (no joke!) I told my husband that we
must have this piano.  The names "Farrand Cecilian" and "Bush & Lane"
meant nothing to me at the time.  I just knew that if this guy didn't
go home with us, it would meet an ignoble end.

Ten days later, after a 70-mile trip to our home in Maryland, it is
becoming acclimated to our front parlor.  The piano mover advised that
I wait a month to have it tuned, if possible.  (I hadn't noticed that
the tuning pins were rusted.)  In the meantime, my husband and I have
taken a real look inside.  There is "Farrand 1883", and a serial number
27222 carved in the upper back.  Could anyone tell me the age of our
piano by that number?

The Bush & Lane action appears to have the "double hernia" metal valve
block system as described in the MMD archives -- lots of "bells and
whistles".  However, I really want to see schematics, to know what
should be here and what might be missing.  Any available sources?

Now, please pardon my ignorance, but on the underside of the keyboard
near my right thigh as I'm sitting, is a metal protrusion (handle?) and
a wooden knob which are attached to rods going into the piano.  Is this
part of the pumping mechanism for the player?  I've assumed that it
required big foot pedals like on a pump organ.  But now I'm wondering
if the pumping action is done by one's leg, rather than by foot?  This
is quite a journey of discovery!

Thanks for your expertise.

Jane Tighe

 [ Welcome to MMD, Jane.  The handles on my old Pianola, nearby the
 [ the right thigh of the pianolist, control (1) the sliding door
 [ which hides the pumping pedals, and (2) a keybed lock, which
 [ prevents movement of the keys when the neighbor kids bang on the
 [ keyboard!  -- Robbie