Hello MMD readers,  This is "late news", a year late, in fact, but
then, I didn't get the information until recently.

As most readers of the Mechanical Music Digest know, I presented two
seasons of successful Pianola concerts in the large recreational hall
at Searsport Shores, a 'nature-oriented' RV park on the banks of
beautiful Penobscot Bay, Maine, where we maintain a seasonal site
facing the sea.

These concerts involved my 1929 Story & Clark 'Reprotone' upright,
which plays full-scale 88-Note rolls (in 5 adjacent keys) and
'reproducing' rolls (in 3 adjacent keys), with an original cut-out
system to shift between the player roll formats.  Since it didn't
matter which type of roll was being played, I used my 88-Note, Duo-Art,
Ampico and some of Robin Pratt's superlative Welte-Licensee recut
arrangements during the two summers of evening musicales.  (In other
words, my Artcraft rolls and Robin's Artists' Choice rolls were the
majority of the arrangements being performed.)  Here's an illustrated
web site, with links, about this series :
http://www.wiscasset.net/artcraft/pianolas.htm

The Maine Arts Commission publishes a glossy (costly!?) magazine,
almost something one would see from the past, when expensive paper and
large layouts, with expansive graphics, were the norm.  My Summer 2002
issue measures 11" square, more designed for a coffee table, than
anything else, I suspect.

Anyway, in an article about art and camping, featuring quilt making
(which also took place in the recreation hall) credit was given to me
for the evening player piano performances.  Elves told me that more
detail was provided to the Commission concerning my concerts, but the
mere mention of them including my name and Wiscasset residence, shows
that virtuoso music roll presentations can attract the attention of
an "arts" publication published by our state government.

The Reprotone's piano trailer will be used, sometime in mid-October,
for another trip to Massachusetts, to pick up more custom-made boxes
for my roll business.  Have prices risen in that field!  Adding in the
Boothbay building storage costs (dehumidifiers, heating, insurance,
etc.), these new boxes will represent about $2.75 of the price for
Artcraft rolls eventually.

It was either lower the quality to the flimsy boxes (used by several
commercial manufacturers) or go along with the increases, so I chose
the latter.  My last order a few years ago, of 2500 boxes, came to
about $1.50 each.  (Our original box company in Portland, Maine, folded
recently.  The building has been renovated for civic uses, being in the
heart of town.  Prices in 1982 were just 90 cents a box, for those who
might be curious.)

By carrying over two thousand boxes back to Maine with the VW camper
towing our piano trailer, we avoid all shipping costs and get the
f.o.b. prices, which would be horrendous otherwise. (The VW camper
gets filled with roll boxes, also, in case you wondered!)

We might continue the 3rd Season of Pianola concerts in 2004 or 2005,
depending upon the economy and my roll business pressures.  Wisely,
I cancelled this year's series during Winter, and it turned out to be
a dismal season for most tourist businesses on the coast of Maine.

I thought that many MMD readers would be interested to know that the
1929 pedal player instrument, used in a concert situation, was included
with articles about ballet, museums, youth education, painting
exhibitions and quilting -- the latter, a Searsport Shores activity,
which received a detailed account.

Best regards,
Douglas Henderson - Artcraft Music Rolls
Wiscasset, Maine 04578 USA
http://wiscasset.nnei.net/artcraft/