[ Ref 100405 MMD, 1920s Piano Roll Catalogues (Randolph Herr)
 [ This message to MMD was forwarded to Randolph for reply.

> I found today's submission by Randolph Herr to be both troubling
> and disheartening.  First, I find it highly inappropriate that
> he listed the name of the person since it leaves the apartment
> open prey for those with intentions to break in.  It's most
> disheartening to read that Mr. Grossman incorrectly assumed that
> Herr would appreciate the rolls, which he apparently has already
> taken possession of and anticipates on selling them through eBay.
> My guess is that if he had known his rolls were going to be
> auctioned off to strangers, he would have sold them himself and
> profited from their sale.
>
> Yet another grim reminder to those of us with collections of
> instruments and rolls to make sure they are given to or willed to
> someone who will truly appreciate them for what they are and not
> immediately sell them off for profit before we've even "kicked the
> bucket".  I'd be curious to know how this gentleman's family feels
> regarding Herr's shameful behavior.
>
> Edwin T. Williams, III

I want to politely respond to Edwin Williams, since all he knows about
the situation is what I wrote to MMD the other day.  I find it kind of
funny that, if I weren't the person who wrote that message, I would
tend to feel like he does.  However let me add some new details.

The least of my points is that I don't think there is much danger of
people "breaking in".  We should all be so lucky that piano rolls are
so valuable that people risk prison to obtain them.  The only thing
left in the apartment is the Stroud Duo-Art upright pumper, a wonderful
piano but something one can hardly give away nowadays.  If anyone
"steals" it, it will be a person who buys it for only a few hundred
dollars, and then pays more than that to have it moved.

The second point is that George Grossman did assume correctly that
I would appreciate the rolls.  I am not selling off all or even most of
them.  George bought large quantities of new rolls from Harold Powell,
Ray Siou and the like.  The rolls are in like-new condition.  I have
a vast Duo-Art collection and I either have these songs on original
rolls or I have the exact same recut that George bought.

I will admit that in these medley rolls there are songs that do not
appeal to me; anything played by Adam Carroll or Victor Arden is so
bland that I can't stand it.  Should I honor George by stockpiling
rolls I do not like in my house?  Who benefits from that?

George would not have sold his rolls and kept the money since his
lifestyle was such that he just wanted to be in the apartment he was
in for about 60 years, and collect rolls, and play them.

Actually, he also liked baseball, and we found boxes of old sports
magazines from the 1940s and '50s.  I know nothing about sports, and
one day someone asked me "Hey, what did you think of that Super Bowl?"
I told them that I didn't know much about bowling.  I did tell his
sister that these things are collector's items, and they were worth
considerable money, and I even offered to put them on eBay and let her
keep all the money.  She wanted to give them to her grandson, who is in
his 30s and likes baseball, so at least they aren't going to a child
who might not know their value.

There are times when "breaking up a collection" of things is
heartbreaking, but George, I am sorry to say, was more of a hoarder
than a collector.  George's apartment consisted basically of his piano,
large piles of rolls in boxes, and his bed.  I am not kidding!  I have
known him for 40 years and I was always happy to service his piano for
free and help him in other ways.  If I were not around to take the
rolls and the piano, they would probably end up in a dumpster, I am
sorry to say.

Mr. Grossman's family is grateful to me for helping him over the years,
and when his 80-year-old sister, Marcia, and I visited George in the
care facility, George was quite clear that he intended for me to get
the rolls.  Marcia cannot keep paying rent on an empty apartment and
pay for George's care at the same time.  None of George's relatives
have the slightest interest in player pianos.  Since he is 87 years old,
it does not seem likely that George will ever return to the apartment,
and he is not complaining to either me or Marcia that he wants to go
home.  It was getting difficult for him to walk, and since George
refused to even have a telephone in his apartment, there was no way
he could signal for help.

In any event, I am sending all the catalogs to Terry Smythe so he can
make them available to all of us.  If that reduces the money I can
ultimately sell them for, well, too bad for me.  I invite others to
comment on this matter.

Randolph Herr