I looked at this machine for a man who got it at auction, and told
him I'd mention it here. It's built around a thunderous-sounding,
very early (65 note?) 1910-ish Aeolian Stuyvesant player piano, with
"wings" like a band organ for the drums and traps (organ pipes on top,
glockenspiel inside) and a quality metal spool frame.
But it stinks like mice -- terribly, especially when running! It is
in the garage and his wife has ordered him to get rid of it. (So much
for buying pianos at auction!) The 30 "O" rolls are all recuts.
I would not even recommend buying it (with the intent of rebuilding
the piano portion thoroughly, to try to get the smell out) because
I have found this impossible to satisfactorily accomplish in such
cases. But it may be possible to salvage some of the components, and
he isn't asking much for it or the rolls, to the best of my knowledge.
(And he's a very pleasant college professor with many other interesting
things in his collections!) Please contact him directly, if interested.
His name is Jim Chisman, in Clemson, South Carolina, and his number is
1-864-287-0145.
Gordon Stelter
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