I wonder if any MMDer has any information about the player pianos
at the Fifth Avenue Grocery Store, in Roundup, Montana?  This store
was shut up in 1952 and left untouched until its heirs put everything
up for sale in auction.

According to the news as reported in The Times (London, a long way
from Montana) there were a couple of player pianos with some rolls,
and Player Piano Group member Hilary Wheeler spotted it and has asked
me if we can glean anything more about them.  He wondered if they
still work after 50 years shut away!

The first sale was a couple of weeks back, and there is another
sale yet to come on the 24th.  There are some pictures of the lots
at http://www.montanatreasure.com/longhorn_auction/pluth_4_30.htm

One shows what I think is a Marshall & Wendell Ampico upright, and
there are a couple of pictures of piano rolls, including an Ampico
"Installation Test Roll" and Kleernote pump.

Julian Dyer
Editor, Player Piano Group Bulletin

 [ At
http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2003/04/27/news/wyoming/81c244ecf03d0dd0ed9699f4c6cb715b.txt
 [
 [ "Longhorn Auction owner Dan Tryan, who saw the Pluth collection
 [ for the first time only a couple of weeks ago, was amazed.  He'd
 [ seen some good estates before, but this one was unusual for
 [ variety and volume, he said."
 [
 [ At http://www.irvingplace.net/blog/archives/2003_04.html :
 [
 [ "In the basement, they also found the remains of a Prohibition-era
 [ speakeasy bar, complete with alcohol and a player piano with about
 [ 200 rolls of music."
 [
 [ -- Robbie