I can throw a tiny glimmer of light on to the Duke of Windsor's
enthusiasm for the Ampico.  In the well-known taped interview with
[Ampico editor] Edgar Fairchild which John Farmer made in the
nineteen-sixties, Fairchild states that the Duke was a great fan of
his and invited him to play for him and Mrs. Simpson at the Royal
retreat at Sandringham House in Norfolk, England.

Fairchild recounts how the Duke would sit beside him as he played in
order to study his technique.  This would have been around 1934 or '35,
not long before the abdication crisis of 1936.  When the Duke of Windsor
abdicated, the British Government turned him out of the country literally
overnight.  Perhaps he didn't have time to pick up his new Ampico rolls?

I was brought up near Sandringham and, as a teenager some fifty years
ago, I heard from a local tuner that there was an upright Ampico in the
house.  Rather cheekily, I wrote to the Royal Steward asking if this
was true and if Her Majesty would consider selling it to me!  I received
a courteous reply saying that there had indeed been some kind of player
piano there at one time but that it had long since been disposed of.

It would be interesting to hear of any other scraps of information
relating to this story.

Richard Stibbons

 [ Read about Sandringham's history and present-day activities at
 [ http://www.sandringhamestate.co.uk/  -- Robbie