I did not realize that much of anything had survived of the
original Duo-Art perforating equipment.  I imagine that the
question is, where is it and is one available?

Unfortunately, it is a sad thing in the antique and collectibles
business that sometimes somebody will be sitting on something and
either they own it so that nobody else can, or they are so afraid
that somebody is going to make a dollar.  Unfortunately, sometimes,
after they pass whatever they had is totally worthless due to poor
care or it is trashed by the next generation who has no idea as to
what it is and what it is for.

It is obvious that there is not a huge market for reproduction
reproducing piano rolls.  If this were so, Aeolian American would
have never stopped making them, QRS would still be manufacturing
them and there would be new songs being made.  Nobody is ever going
to get rich on this one.

I have seen lots of examples of people who have hoarded things away
in old unheated farm buildings or damp, wet basements, not willing
to sell the merchandise or restore the stuff only to have climate,
"critters", rust and dry rot, and or mold totally destroy something
that could have been decent and it would have lived into future
generations.

If there actually are Duo-Art perforators out there that are just
gathering dust, I do not think that there would be a better
candidate for stewardship than Precision Music Rolls.  They have
done a wonderful service for Ampico owners and this needs to be done
for the Duo-Art.  The key to the survival and restoration of existing
instruments is having a good library of music easily available.  This
would be a real plus for rebuilders as well as those who currently
own instruments in playing condition.  This would NOT cut out small
independent suppliers who do specialty runs.

If anyone knows where this equipment currently exists, I think that
you could do all of us a very good turn in helping Precision obtain
the equipment to reissue Duo-Art along with Ampico.

Randy Hammond