Yup, there were crooked people trying to pull a fast one even 80
years ago.  Shows how basic human nature never changes.

Except for the "Singer Piano Co." in the harp casting, this piano
looks almost exactly like my H.C. Bay.  Mine has "HC Bay" as a decal
on the harp instead of the brand cast into the harp, but the stack,
the piano action, even the case looks like mine.  The only real
difference I see is the finish on the soft pedal action (the wood
strip that pushes on the hammers) and the finish on the case is
different.  The case style is the same as mine as well.

With its Bakelite molded valves, the H.C. Bay player action is
different than almost any other but it is very simple to rebuild
overall.  The only thing I had to deal with that was a bit challenging
in the fact that the stack is sealed and has to be cut in half in order
to get to the pouches.  Leather gaskets and a lot of screws are needed
to put the stack back together.

Arthur Reblitz's book "Player Piano Servicing and Rebuilding" has
a small but very useful section on rebuilding the H.C. Bay starting
on page 111.

Ray Finch