[ Ref. 110829 MMDigest, Aeolian 1533 "Flitterin'" by Clyde Ridge

Hello all,  I am the current guardian of all the late Aeolian/American
piano roll masters including the manufacturing machinery (except one
perforator which went to a gentleman in Australia).  About two years
ago, I restored the better of the two perforators and fitted it with
devices which make it functionally equivalent to Keystone's Ampico
perforator.  This Aeolian/American perforator is now located in Hyde
Park, New York, and is in running condition needing only to have its
dies resharpened.  In my limited space, only two bulk paper supply
rolls are currently mounted.

The bulk of the masters are still located in Keystone's warehouse in
Pennsylvania.  Over the next few months, all the masters will be moved
to Hyde Park where I plan to make archival scans of the entire library.
In its present configuration, the refurbished perforator can no longer
run the original masters.  They must be scanned and converted to MIDI
files.

The new paper advance technology is far superior to the 'cam driven
one-way clutch' mechanism originally used.  This not only eliminates
the unevenness of the chain bridging but gives the perforator a nearly
unlimited selection of programmable step rate settings.  Rolls issued
with this new technology have the potential to be more accurate than
original old rolls.  Imagine hearing, for the first time, your favorite
Aeolian tunes without the rhythmic timing errors which were an artifact
of the sloppy perforator paper advance mechanism.

Each title of the master library is in its own box containing the
following items:

  Mylar master
  Playable paper roll
  Sheet music
  Job traveler autographed by arranger and craftsmen
  Lyric printing belt
  Rubber stamp

A copy of the original listing of all known titles is on its way to me.
The master inventory will be checked against this list to discover if
any original rolls need to be borrowed for scanning.

I will keep you all informed from time to time on the progress of the
scanning project.

Forever Flitterin',
Larry Doe
Hyde Park, New York