I'm having my Steinway Duo-Art rebuilt and would like to welcome it
to our new home in the Old Dominion State with a roll I've been seeking
for years.

Can anyone help me find a good copy of the British _single roll_
Duo-Art of George Gershwin playing "Rhapsody In Blue"?  To my
knowledge, it was never cut or re-cut in the USA.

In thanks for reading this request, I offer the following anecdote:

A player technician/restorer/collector in New England attempted years
ago to get DUO-ART on his automobile license plates.  Mostly for
benefit of our overseas readers:  These are variously called
Personalized Plates, Vanity Plates, Special Plates, etc.  Most if not
all U.S. states offer them, at special additional cost.

My family moved a year ago to Virginia, which offers nearly 200
different design license plate blanks!  This involves increased fees.
The sponsoring association, university or whatever must promise to use
a minimum number of plates, usually 1,000.

These can then be personalized with one's name, brief slogan or the
like if available, for even more fees.  The various state Motor Vehicle
offices are very careful that the motto or personalization isn't a
swear word, or something else offensive in any way.

Again in Virginia, there has been a running argument whether the Sons
of the Confederacy (I think that's the group) may have its own design
plate (it may).  The problem came about when it wanted to show the
so-called "Confederate Flag" on the plate (it may not, according to
various recent state rulings).

Actually, the design they wanted was the Confederate Regimental Battle
Flag during the War Between The States.  Most people think that design
was _the_ flag of the Confederate States of America during the Civil
War (it wasn't).  Most people also call it the "Stars and Bars" (it
wasn't: that's the name of the first CSA National Flag, which was quite
different; all told, there were three successive CSA national emblems
between 1861 and 1865).  Anyway, back north to them Damnyankees (down
heah, that's one word, y'all)!

Massachusetts thought "Duo Art" sounded dirty somehow.  Well, consider
that they are called "Reproducing" pianos.  Our hapless but eager
collector went to the appropriate office armed with a huge file of
Duo-Art roll catalogs, Aeolian advertisements, Duo-Art rolls and the
like, before he convinced the motor vehicle bureaucrats that his was
a legitimate request.  Having done this, he was allowed to get the
coveted license plate DUO ART.

Not long after, our hero was able to satisfy a different fetish, when
he became the proud owner of a gorgeous used MG sport car.  For this,
he decided to scrap the DUO ART plates in favor of MG!

The reason I know all this is that I was fortunate enough to purchase
one of his DUO ART plates as a souvenir.  For years since, it has been
displayed directly under a framed package design from a case of cigars
bearing the brand name ... well, you guess!  DUO-ART, of course!

Happy reiteration to y'all!

Lee Munsick