Today I was at an estate sale inspecting a Hammond player piano, serial
nr. 22759, which according to the plate was made by the Straube Piano
Co.  The action is a Standard player action.

The piano looks to me to be well-built, or at least average to better
than average quality.  It has what appear to be the original ivories,
a few of which are cracked and chipped, but generally good condition.
The hammers and dampers looked original to me, as did what little
pneumatic cloth I could see, on the wind motor and tracking device.
The piano had been refinished sometime in the past, though it was a
good enough job I wouldn't have noticed, except for the lack of a decal
on the fallboard.  I did not have a chance to inspect the soundboard or
the lower player action.

I did put on a roll and pump it: it leaks almost like a sieve, but
I managed to limp through a chorus before I was worn out.  I also
hand-played it: the touch was pretty good and pretty even, and I didn't
notice any dead notes.  The piano has a good sound, too, not like an
old washtub.  This piano also has an original (non-retrofit) mandolin
attachment, activated by the middle pedal.

The lady selling it tells me that a man she knew worked on it before
and got it working.  According to her, it was not in good condition
before.  This surprised me, since from what I could tell, this was
an essentially untouched, unrestored player in good, clean condition.
However, it is possible what he did was confined to the lower player
action only.

I do not know very much about the Straube Piano Co., but I could tell
this piano was of a higher quality than the Lehmann stencil piano with
H.C. Bay action at my home.  It did not appear to have been exposed to
any kind of extreme temperature or humidity changes, and looked
well-cared-for.  There were also about 120 or so piano rolls with the
piano (mostly newer Aeolian and QRS), a bench, and a tracker bar pump.

The estate sale will also be going on tomorrow, April 2, and the piano
and rolls are going for $250.  I'm sure you could haggle the price down
a bit, though it seems to be worth about that much to me.  Not having
much room myself, I promised I would let people know about this piano,
since they really need to sell it.

The piano is located in Tustin, California (Southern California).
Email me and I will give you the address and directions to the house.
I hope somebody has a good home for this piano.

Andrew Barrett
barrett@95net.com.geentroep [delete ".geentroep to reply]

 [ Hammond, Indiana, was the home of the Straube Piano and Music Co.
 [ Ref. http://www.hammondindiana.com/20thcentury/time_capsule24.htm
 [ -- Robbie