I have a question regarding an "O" roll orchestrion with an oddball
spool frame.  Maybe some of you visited Virginia City, Nevada, in the
mid-1980s.  The orchestrion was located in a bar/gambling place located
near the top of the main street, right hand side, facing uphill.

The piano had a large glass pane, higher than a normal upright, and
when I first looked at it, I figured it was an "A" roll instrument, as
the spooling was front-to-front, i.e., the tracker bar was well forward
of the axial line of the spools.  On a closer look I saw the smaller
88-note perforations, and by that time it had started to play and
I recognised the "O" roll coding.  I can't remember if there were two
Secondary instruments, but there was a xylophone or glockenspiel.

I mentioned to the owner that I made "O" rolls and he said he would
like to buy one of mine SB-1.  He said he had many more pianos at his
restaurants.  I was going to San Francisco and I obtained a roll of
mine from Ray Siou.

Some time later I returned to the bar in Virginia City and I had great
difficulty in installation.  I knew it had to be rolled front-to-front
spooling, and the drive for the spool was on the right side!  So the
square wood piece in the core had to be taken off and glued on the
other end.

So glue had to be obtained, 5-minute epoxy.  I had then pulled off the
paper by hand and manually reeled same to the take-up spool and, to be
safe at this point, I reeled the paper back on the core by hand and
I finally got it to play.

The bar owner's sidekick said, "The paper should be yellow like the
other one -- it looks more vintage!"  By this time I was in no state
to reply cordially!

The sale of other rolls did not come about.  I visited Virginia City in
1999 and the bar was gone in favour of the place now selling high-price
leather jackets and the like.

I would like to know who made this orchestrion, weird as it may be.

Steve Bentley
Vancouver, British Columbia