Reference: Steve Robbins inquiry in 150426 MMDigest

Hello to interested folk: Indeed, the pump in question is from
a rather early Stoddard-Ampico.  Both my good friend, Bruce Clark, and
myself have worked on upright pianos that contain this type of pump.

In The AMICA News Bulletin of Nov/Dec, 1991, on page 4, is an article,
"The Evolution of the AMPICO," by Richard Howe and Jeffrey Morgan.
They refer to the model using this type pump as a 2B (Stoddard-Ampico)
made from mid-1914 to mid-1917.

There are, or were, several upright Ampicos in the Rochester, New York,
area, all housed in Foster-Armstrong pianos built in that division of
American Piano Co. in East Rochester.  One of the pianos was a Haines
Brothers made for Thomas Bridson, the superintendent of the piano case
department at the East Rochester facility.  The piano then belonged to
his granddaughter.  She alerted me to the fact that his name was on the
piano somewhere and was being made for him.

Removing the keys and the key frame revealed his name in large script,
with a note: "special for T. Bridson" with a date in 1916.  All the
controls and expression were contained in the right and left channel
panels attached to the side walls.

An early Ampico roll, number 50203-H "Stoddard-Ampico Tester,"
contained a rolled scroll of "Illustrated views of the AMPICO
reproducing mechanism," often missing from surviving rolls.  There
are a number of photos detailing each part.  The first photo shows
a clear view of the pump in question, as well as the Auto Pneumatic
double-valve stack.

I'm aware that there is also a piano in the Buffalo, New York, area
of the same period and design of the "2B" Stoddard-Ampico.  I trust
this provides documented evidence of the forlorn Stoddard-Ampico pump.

Alan Mueller
Greece, New York - six miles from the still standing AMPICO chimney.