Player Piano, Covered With Stuff
This is a fully operational
player piano by Leonard & Co., Philadelphia, PA. It is also where we display some of
our fun stuff. The piano operates pneumatically -- it has a pair of foot pedals that pump
a vacuum bellows, which draw air through the piano mechanism. The keys play by pneumatic
action, and the piano roll is pulled through by a big vacuum-operated motor. We also have
an electric vacuum pump installed in the piano so that it will play without using the foot
pump.
Above and on top of the piano is a lot of stuff. At the left is a J/22 class sailboat insignia that we cut from a mainsail and mounted and framed back when we were racing 22's. You can also see the old traffic light - permanently shows "S-T-O-P" and the clock from our Kodak collection. Yes that's a Brannock device at the bottom left of clock. What's a Brannock device? Did you ever buy a new pair of shoes??? On the wall to the left of the clock is a very rare QRS "Play-A-Sax".
The pictures below are close-ups of the areas on top of the piano, so you can see some
more fun stuff.
Walker learned to play the concertina, but Nancy soon tired of the one song that
he learned - the theme song from "The Little Rascals".
This shot shows some wienermobilia, a collection of insulators, a
collection of tuning forks, and a small portion of our collection of glass eyes.
Yes, glass eyes. The gumball machine is wearing a Groucho nose and a Florida Gators
hat. Hey, we couldn't resist! That is us (Nancy and Walker) peeking out from the little
framed photo behind the gumball machine. You can also see our Edison Home Phonograph,
which plays Edison cylinders.
This "wheel of fortune" has become the place to hang all sorts
of small fun stuff. Next to it is a working barber pole. There are musical
instruments everywhere.
To the right of the piano is a collection of Starr-X bottle openers and another group of assorted stuff.