Greetings,  This is a first time for me to publish since I find it
necessary to do so.  I cannot thank David Dewey enough for his stepping
up to the plate and expressing what needs to be done regarding the
possession of Ivory.  Unfortunately here we go again with a law going
into place without the proper review and input.  I especially
appreciated David expressing that to sit and do nothing is the worse
mistake one can make and it is.

If those of you who have been collectors for many years know, this is
not the first time something like this or similar to this has come up.
Back in the late 1960s and early '70s it was tortoise shell being
the endangered material and no object of any kind was to be in the
possession of collectors regardless of its vintage, much less in the
possession of dealers or auction houses; like ivory, it was being
confiscated.

So, once again, here we are now with ivory, only I believe this time
the law is even more explicit as to what can and cannot be done, to
the point of being ridiculous.  They have gone too far.

This law already went into place in California and is on the books
so it appears each state is starting to weigh in.  The problem is
that doing nothing about the law as it is expressed only allows the
government to enact yet another regulation that should not apply to
collectibles of any type prior to a specific date that could be
considered endangering a species.

This reminds me of a similar situation although no specific species
was endangered -- it was slot machines.  It was going to be ruled that
no one could own or possess a slot machine -- period! -- but thanks
to those stalwart individuals who diligently worked to put a law into
affect as to what was an allowable year to own a slot machine, we now
have that in place and collectors are able to own slot machines and
not be concerned whether they will be confiscated or have to go through
paperwork in order to be able to buy or sell.

This is my request: please follow David Dewey's advice and start
contacting your representatives now and let them know why the current
law is not only unfair and ridiculous but was obviously not properly
thought through.

I can assure you there are groups and organizations working diligently
to reverse what has taken place because it has a larger impact than
one can even begin to imagine.

As a tested and certified Appraiser in Automatic Musical Instruments,
with a Senior designation through The American Society of Appraisers,
I am pleased to inform you that we as an organization of approximately
6200 members strong are working diligently to have this reviewed and
reconsidered for a better interpretation as to what constitutes at what
point in time, the ban would be subject to the current problem with
Ivory.  We have our own lobbyist at our International Headquarters
in Reston, Virginia, that I as a member contact with any and all
information that can be presented to help reverse this law or at least
come up with a better reading that is doable for all concerned.

It isn't just the ivory, my friends, on your pianos and keyboard
nickelodeons -- its also included in many of the other collectibles
within the Automatic Musical Instruments family.

So, I ask that you please take the time and do something to help
reverse this decision that has been made, don't just look the other
way and figure you don't want to deal with it.  One must realize it
isn't just Automatic Musical Instruments we are talking about; ivory
is included in so many collectibles it would be difficult to try and
list them all.

This is more important than you can even imagine and it really needs
to be resolved.  Remember Evil Prospers when Good Men do Nothing.
Please don't allow them to get away with this.  It has a big impact
on me as an appraiser and more so on you as collectors.

Noel Burndahl